The Physical Sciences Area seeks to understand the fundamental physics of the universe at scales ranging from the infinitely small, inside the world of subatomic particles and nuclei, to the infinitely large, in the structure and evolution of the universe. To tackle these two infinities, we develop cutting-edge tools and technologies, coupled with creative scientific insights, that advance scientific knowledge and ultimately benefit society.
Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics
The Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division invents, develops, and deploys particle accelerators and accelerator-based photon sources to explore and control matter and energy.
Engineering
The Engineering Division builds advanced scientific instrumentation that enables many of the research breakthroughs achieved by Berkeley Lab. These discoveries are the direct result of the integrated coordination and deployment of professional engineering and specialized technical resources.
Nuclear Science
The Nuclear Science Division conducts basic research aimed at understanding the structure and interactions of nuclei and the forces of nature as manifested in nuclear matter.
Physics
Interactions between matter and energy shape our world and the universe around us. Physics Division researchers are studying these interactions from the innermost confines of subatomic particles to the outermost reaches of the cosmos.
DESI Completes Planned 3D Map of the Universe and Continues Exploring
Offline Reinforcement Learning for VENUS Control
Data from Proton and Ion Targets Offers Synergies to Probe Meson Structure
CNC Machine Installation: Berkeley Lab Engineering Machine Shop Upgrade
Berkeley Lab’s Engineering Division recently installed a new large-format Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Horizontal Boring Mill (HBM) to enhance onsite machine shop capabilities, significantly expanding its capacity for precision manufacturing, large-format fabrication, and complex component production. This 2022-2026 time-lapse video shows the new 40-ton HBM being installed and incorporated into the existing machine shop infrastructure, and explains how it enhances our ability to deliver high-precision solutions for world-class science.
The Ghost in the Detector: Are neutrinos the key in solving the universe’s antimatter mystery?
In Episode 2 of the Let’s Get Nuclear podcast, NSD researchers explore one of the universe’s most profound enigmas: why is our universe dominated by matter, when theory suggests that matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts at the dawn of time? A potential clue lies in the properties of the neutrino, a mysterious “ghost particle” that rarely interacts with matter.
The Quest for Element 120 and the Elusive Island of Stability
In Episode 1 of NSD’s new podcast, Let’s Get Nuclear, host Jennifer Pore takes us on a journey to the “absolute edge of the periodic table” to explore the mysterious world of superheavy elements. Learn from Berkeley Lab experts about these rare, short-lived substances created by humans, and the quest for the “island of stability,” a theoretical region where they can be thoroughly studied.
