This photo, titled “Underwater Hunting”, was a finalist for the 2025 Global Physics Photowalk. According to the Interactions Collaboration, the competition, held every three years, aims to “highlight visual evidence that reflects the beauty, precision and nature of mankind’s quest to understand the universe”.
This year, 16 science laboratories from around the world submitted their top three images of the year. Then, a judging panel of physics experts and photographers chose three winners. The public also voted for their top three photographs during a brief selection period.
“The photographs move between abstraction and lived experience – exploring form, rhythm and quiet beauty in scientific spaces, while foregrounding the people whose labor and curiosity made this work possible,” said Will Warsilla, a freelance photographer for The New York Times, who was part of the judging panel.
You can see the list of winners here, but we’ve selected some of our favorites from the full gallery of 48 finalists, which you can also find here. The photowalk is also currently on display at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
RESEARCH ON COLD
In this photo, a young researcher sits alone in the Cryogenic Laboratory for Detectors (COLD) at the INFN National Laboratories in Frascati, Italy. In the foreground is the facility’s cryostat, whose temperature reaches -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit (-273.14 degrees Celsius) — almost absolute zero — so that physicists can probe some of the most mysterious signals in the universe.
This entry won first place in the Judge’s Choice category. Panel member and creative lead at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Tania Rauscher praised the image’s “clear visual storytelling and excellent use of light… [which] Creates a serene, almost cinematic atmosphere that captures both the intensity and solitude of scientific work.
tunnel
Unlike the judges, the public’s choice for first place was this bright photo of the corridor of the Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator in Caen, France. According to Interact, this particular section of the facility is brighter than other areas. The colors of the myriad cables and pipes pop against the backdrop of a metal room lit with star-shaped lights.
less than 33.5 meters
Features advanced particle physics Huge. This is because experiments require a ton of space to get enough power to accelerate the particles, facilities to flow the particles and analyze data, maintain gadgets, etc.
This often means that physicists go underground. For Japan’s Proton Accelerator Research Complex, it rose to about 110 feet (33.5 m). According to photographer Hisahiro Suganuma, multiple composites were required to fully capture the vast scope of the hole.
Ab profundis, scientia,
As you can imagine, building the particle physics facility has truly been a labor of love, tears, and dirt. But mostly filth. In this photo, a man shines a headlamp on a wall at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota, which recently expanded. Now, the facility lies 4,850 feet (1,479 m) underground, which SURF says will “harbor future generations of science.”
neutrino telescope eye
Let’s switch gears again and admire this close-up image of the photomultiplier from KM3NeT. The KM3NeT has 31 of these photomultipliers in each optical module. Together, the entire system forms a vast array of neutrino detectors that measure several million cubic meters of water on the ocean floor. This image won third place in the Judge’s Choice category.
Where’s Waldo?
This photo shows the dizzying array of wires and components that make up a fully operational data center at the French National Center for Scientific Research. We non-physicists have the privilege of seeing physics discoveries in the form of neatly organized, peer-reviewed papers, but this underplays the enormous burden of data collection that goes into these efforts.
vacuum
When it comes to vast amounts of data, an essential part of doing research with accelerators is identifying patterns. This photo, awarded second place in the People’s Choice category, shows some interesting patterns found in the casing of vacuum pipes at France’s Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator.
FYI, the French title of the picture is “Sous-vide”, which literally means “under vacuum”, but this phrase may remind English speakers of the technique of cooking meat. I wasn’t sure about the parallels at first, but it’s certainly funny to think of accelerators as machines that cook particles slowly at precisely regulated temperatures (I think they’re similar).
AGATA-PRISMA setup for nuclear physics experiments
Last but not least, the picture won the hearts of both the judging panel and the public and secured the second and third place respectively. Shown here is a photon detector coupled to a magnetic spectrometer at the INFN National Laboratories in Legnaro, Italy. These instruments support low- and medium-energy experiments in nuclear physics, which investigate how heavy particles break apart.
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