How do atoms and molecules behave when you protect them with powerful lasers? Here, we study the finer details of the substances that make up the world we are living in.

How did the universe arise? How has it evolved? How do the stars work? Why are there exoplanets around almost all stars, and what can it tell us about ourselves, and the possibilities for life elsewhere?

Deep under the biological phenomena, physics and chemistry are the necessary research areas for understanding the overall biology and biotechnology.    

The substances often behave astonishingly differently in interfaces, that is on surfaces. Surface science provides us with an understanding of the interaction between the macroscopic, the microscopic and the atomic world.

In the size area 1/1 000 000 000 000 000 metres, we see very special phenomena, where, for example, smoke and dust have properties that interconnect the material properties and the physics of the atoms.

Both quantum mechanics, atomic- and nuclear physics and systems consisting of many parts or particles must be considered and calculated as statistical phenomena. Statistical physics is an immensely useful tool in many areas.

It is in the nucleus world, the processes that we associate with nuclear power, the impact of stellar energy conversion and the origins of the elements take place. Radioactive radiation, and our knowledge of its useful and harmful effects on solid matter and organic tissue is part of nuclear physics.

How does radiation affect condensed matter. What does it take to develop new materials for use in electronics and other industrial applications? Why does the surface of a substance often have very different properties than the interior of the substance?

Researchers from IFA are deeply involved in the work of the CERN Research Centre in Geneva. Both in the use of the huge accelerator and in the development of new methods and detectors    

The Department's Accelerators can study the isotope composition of many types of materials. It is used for dating and for studies of the origin of the materials in connection with archaeological findings, for analyses of many forms of environmental chemistry and atmospheric samples, and for geological and forensic medicine examinations.

The wind-tunnel tank in the basement of the department are used for simulations of the conditions on the surface of Mars. How will the future parts of the space probes be affected by the extreme pressure, temperatures and the ubiquitous dust on the red planet?