Condensed matter

Foreword Physics and physicists play a vital role in underpinning our way of life, improving its quality and contributing in a major way to wealth creation. Innovations as powerful and diverse as the World Wide Web and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have emerged from studies in basic physics, becoming everyday technologies in just two decades. It is, therefore, a worthwhile challenge to speculate where similar explorations today will lead us in the future. This booklet, the first in a series covering the main areas of physics, attempts to do just that: highlight and showcase world-class UK work that has the greatest potential for commercial exploitation. It is jointly sponsored by the Institute of Physics – the professional body and learned society for physics and physicists – and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) – one of the largest UK funders of physics research. We hope that this booklet illustrates how the research investment made by the EPSRC and the support provided by the Institute to its membership, will enable the UK's economy, and society at large, to benefit from the discoveries and advances in physics being made. Foreword Introduction Nanoparticles in medicine The optical, electronic and magnetic properties of minute metal particles are being exploited to diagnose and cure disease Wonderful carbon One of the most mundane materials, carbon, could be the future of nano-electronics Quantum dots light up the future A novel type of semiconductor nano-structure is set to become a key element in future optoelectronic technology A new spin on electronics Future computer-processing elements, as well as memory devices, could be based on the electron's property of spin Going with the flow What controls how easily a molten plastic squeezes through a nozzle or whether mayonnaise separates? Keeping up with Moore's law Is there a limit to the number and size of devices on an electronic chip? Industry and university research groups are exploring the possibilities