On the one hand, physics may seem far removed from today’s essential problems that need to be solved. On the other hand, it is at their core. Physics is a fundamental science that studies the basic phenomena – matter, motion and energy – related to how our world functions.
“When we understand these phenomena, we can also understand the different events associated with them – such as climate change. Basic research forms the basis for understanding the entire universe. That is why it is important to do basic science in addition to applied research,” says Panja Luukka, Professor of Physics at LUT University.
Physics plays a key role, for example, in efficient data processing, the electrification of society and the manufacture of machines that use resources wisely. For example, LUT has succeeded in printing at the same time a device from smart material with both moving and non-moving parts for the first time in the world.
Particle physics is utilised in major high-tech companies
Both Luukka and his colleague Professor Henning Kirschenmann have worked at CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics. At first glance, particle physics may seem disconnected from everyday life as it focuses on the smallest building blocks of the universe, the elementary particles. However, the truth is different.
“CERN studies issues that cannot be studied anywhere else. In addition to fundamental research, it provides new insights and tools that can transform entire industries. From discovering the electron more than a century ago to developing advanced detectors at CERN, particle physics has repeatedly opened doors to transformative technologies we now take for granted,” Kirschenmann says.
One such example is the internet or more specifically the World Wide Web which was invented in 1989 in CERN. The World Wide Web transformed internet from a network for universities to the modern internet accessible to the general public.
Another significant contribution of particle physics lies in handling data. At CERN collisions in the Large Hadron Collider generate staggering amounts of information that must be processed in real time. The high-speed decisions, driven by advanced algorithms and machine learning, have direct translations to breakthroughs in fields like autonomous driving, where vehicles also rely on split-second data analysis to navigate safely.
“Many alumni from particle physics research discover that the intense data-crunching skills they hone at CERN LHC data analysis transfer seamlessly to high-profile industry roles. A surprisingly large fraction of my own peers and former students work for big tech companies,” says Kirchenmann.
A physicist discovered semiconductors that form a basis to current electrification
In the early 1900s an Indian physicist discovered semiconductors which are materials that conduct electricity better than insulators, but worse than metals. Semiconductors still play a significant role in, for example, electrification, electronics, and modern technology in general.
“Physics has a lot to offer electrification, because it helps us understand the fundamental phenomena associated with it. We can find out why a component breaks down or why it doesn't work reliably,” Panja Luukka says.
Currently, at the heart of semiconductor technology is miniaturisation. With developing semiconductors devices could be made more energy efficient and more efficient to use as well. In practice, semiconductor technology aims at optimising devices.
We are hoping that the next major semiconductor chip factory would be built in Finland.
“Finland has a lot of cutting-edge technology based on semiconductors. At the moment, we are hoping that the next major semiconductor chip factory would be built in Finland. In addition to technological know-how and highly educated work force, we have clean water and affordable electricity and even lack the earthquakes that may cause risks to the operation of such facility.”
The significance of physics in electrification can also be seen at LUT. Luukka tells that LUT's Department of Physics is continuously cooperating more closely with the Department of Electrical Engineering.
“We will not start making electric cars in physics, but we can bring our expertise to reliability research related to electrification, for example, which is directly related to the safety of electric transport. Cooperation with electrical engineers plays an important role in this.”
Materials physics embeds intelligence into materials
Semiconductors have contributed to making the physical size of electronics smaller while increasing their performance. A similar development is currently taking place in mechanical engineering, where smart material structures are being developed to replace traditional materials in compound machines. This is possible with material physics.
Smart materials do not replace entire machines, but they can be used to make machines smaller without compromising their efficiency. Instead of, for example, having several different parts that produce movement by using a certain kind of smart material, the movement can be produced with the material itself.
“I often use a sewing machine as an illustrative example of this. Today's sewing machines have numerous different parts that move the needle. If the needle was made of smart material that produces movement, no separate parts would be needed to move it,” says Professor of Physics Kari Ullakko.
So, in a way, the needle would move by itself. However, Ullakko emphasises that a sewing machine needle is just a conceptual example. In reality, smart materials would primarily be used to manufacture, for example, various pumps.
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Smart materials can transform mechanical engineering
LUT's Department of Physics is currently studying how functional devices made of smart materials could be made with a single 3D printing.
“In other words, we would print the whole device including the part that generates movement. Just before Christmas, one of the researchers in our group managed to print at the same time a column that produces movement and a supporting structure surrounding it that does not produce movement. No one in the world has done anything like this before,” Ullakko says.
The research uses a magnetically controlled shape memory alloy developed by Ullakko himself at MIT in the 1990s.
Like semiconductor technology, smart materials make it possible to miniaturise devices, saving resources. In addition, the manufacturing method by printing completely eliminates material waste. Printing also enables equipment to be manufactured on site, which improves security of supply and reduces the need for long-distance logistics.
No one in the world has done anything like this before.
“Intelligence replaces mass. Modestly put, we aim for a similar revolution with smart materials in mechanical engineering that the semiconductors once did in electronics,” Ullakko explains with a twinkle in his eye.
But the truth is the development is so ground-breaking it has an impact that extends beyond technology. Ullakko led the Manufacturing 4.0 research project, funded by the Strategic Research Council, which ended in 2023. The project studied the effects of 3D printing and industrial automation also from the perspective of the economy, education and social policy.
“The project was central to the purpose of our research. Physics, and also engineering, are sciences that must not live only for themselves. They should serve society.”
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Henning Kirschenmann
