Let's Get Physic-al

In nature, colour vision is an evolutionary capability that facilitates the recognition of opportunities and threads to animals. Human beings, for example, have a very simplified representation of the massive spectral information available in the light radiation by the combination of three primary colours (red, green and blue). Multi-spectral imaging is a technique that generalises the concept of colour detection well beyond human capabilities, with an almost arbitrary number of "primary colours" (spectral bands), even extending the range to different kinds of light invisible for us.

The ability to measure tiny variations in gravitational acceleration, allows us to see not just the Earth's gravitational pull, but the influence of smaller objects. The more accurate the gravimeter, the smaller the objects we can see. From tracking magma moving kilometres under volcanoes before eruptions, to revealing hidden archaeological sites; from finding new mineral resources, to tracking the attitude of nano-satellites; gravimetry gives us the ability to benefit society in many ways. At Glasgow University we’ve developed the smallest and cheapest gravity sensor yet.