The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

We describe the performance of the Boolardy Engineering Test Array, the prototype for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. Boolardy Engineering Test Array is the first aperture synthesis radio telescope to use phased array feed technology, giving it the ability to electronically form up to nine dual-polarisation beams. We report the methods developed for forming and measuring the beams, and the adaptations that have been made to the traditional calibration and imaging procedures in order to allow BETA to function as a multi-beam aperture synthesis telescope. We describe the commissioning of the instrument and present details of Boolardy Engineering Test Array’s performance: sensitivity, beam characteristics, polarimetric properties, and image quality. We summarise the astronomical science that it has produced and draw lessons from operating Boolardy Engineering Test Array that will be relevant to the commissioning and operation of the final Australian Square Kilometre Array Path telescope.

We have measured the 2.3 GHz total and correlated flux densities on a baseline of 275 km of all sources in the Parkes catalogue which

1. (i) are south of declination +10°,

2. (ii) have a catalogued 2.7 GHz total flux density exceeding 0.5 Jy, and

3. (iii) have a 2.7/5.0 GHz spectral index flatter than −0.5.

More than 14% of the sample showed visibility amplitudes greater than 0.9, and more than 72% showed visibility amplitudes greater than 0.5. Of the sources with optical or other identifications 79% were quasars. In this paper we briefly summarise the results of this survey.

We present preliminary results from a number of deep radio polarization surveys being made of the Magellanic Clouds at 2.3 GHz, 4.75 GHz and 8.55 GHz. Extended and linearly polarized radio emission has been found at 2.3 and 4.75 GHz from both the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). However, as the analysis of these data is not yet complete we present only some of the 4.75 GHz results at this time.

The powerful lasers being constructed for inertially confined fusion generate enormous pressures extremely rapidly. These extraordinary machines both motivate the need and provide the means to study materials under extreme pressures and loading rates. In this frontier of materials science, an experiment may last for just 10s of nanoseconds. Processes familiar at ambient conditions, such as phase transformations and plastic flow, operate far from equilibrium and show significant kinetic effects. Here we describe recent developments in the science of metal deformation and phase transitions at extreme pressures and strain rates. Ramp loading techniques enable the study of solids at high pressures (100s of GPa) at moderate temperatures. Advanced diagnostics, such as in situ x-ray scattering, allow time-resolved material characterization in the short-lived high-pressure state, including crystal structure (phase), elastic compression, the size of microstructural features, and defect densities. Computer simulation, especially molecular dynamics, provides insight into the mechanisms of deformation and phase change.

The Southern Hemisphere VLBI Experiment (SHEVE) program is aimed at producing high-resolution images of southern radio sources. The radio telescopes of the present SHEVE array are described below and some recent results presented.

New radio continuum surveys of the Large and the Small Magellanic Cloud have been completed recently at four frequencies, using the Parkes 64-m telescope. Here we shall discuss briefly the overall radio morphology of the Clouds at different frequencies and discuss the detected linear polarization. A preliminary integrated radio continuum spectrum of the Large Magellanic Cloud is also presented. Various aspects of future studies will be outlined.

We present new results from a number of deep radio polarization surveys of the Magellanic Clouds at 2.3 GHz, 4.75 GHz and 8.55 GHz. Extended linearly polarized radio emission has been found at 2.3 and 4.75 GHz from both galaxies.

A radiochemical 71Ga−71 Ge experiment to determine the integral flux of neutrinos from the sun has been constructed at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory in the USSR. Measurements have begun with 30 tonnes of gallium. The experiment is being expanded with the addition of another 30 tonnes. The motivation, experimental procedures, and present status of this experiment are presented.