Research

Two Cherenkov telescopes help us understand extreme cosmic phenomena through very high-energy gamma rays; they are currently the most sensitive devices of their kind in the world. The prototypes, which were developed by an international team involving Czech scientists, are now in Ondřejov. This is an exceptional opportunity for Czech astrophysicists, as the telescopes may be moved abroad in the future.   

Thomas Gouder’s life's work at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in Karlsruhe (JRC) is a state-of-the-art modular system for surface science. The instrument, used for cutting-edge research on nuclear fuel safety, corrosion, catalysis, and actinide chemistry, has served scientists from all over Europe, including teams from Prague. What is it used for, and what lies ahead for its future?

A team of physicists from Czech research institutions shows how shaped light fields can steer ultrafast processes inside solids with remarkable precision.

The world's leading mineralogist Jakub Plášil has been unravelling complex crystal structures and discovering new minerals for years. At first glance, it might seem that this is a marginal area of science that is not "in vogue" today. Yet Plášil and his colleagues are making discoveries that have broader implications – for example, in understanding how uranium and other metallic elements are distributed in nature. His research has won him an award by the European Mineralogical Union.

An international team led by Jakub Vícha from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has proposed a revolutionary "heavy metal" scenario that may change the view on the composition of the most energetic particles arriving from space. The theory, which the physicist built together with his team based on the analysis of unique data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, will contribute to answering the question of what these particles are made of and where they originate. A crucial role might be played by iron. 

The team led by Hana Lísalová from the Division of Optics of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has designed and manufactured a microfluidic reactor using 3D printing. This innovation has sped up and simplified the preparation of polymer brushes, which form the basis of modern biosensors.

Scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by Zdeněk Hubička and Jiří Olejníček, have succeeded in developing an improved method for preparing thin films of zinc oxide (ZnO) that respond to vacuum ultraviolet radiation much faster than previously known films produced by other methods.

A team of physicists of the Czech Academy of Scienceshas unveiled a novel battery electrolyte that could to reshape the future of energy storage—enhancing stability, simplifying production, and extending battery lifespan.