1. 'A snapshot of the infant universe' Detecting gravitational waves – University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham has been involved in a major project to detect gravitational waves, which are ripples in space time caused by violent cosmic events. Their detection could ultimately provide a snapshot of the infant universe, when it was less than a second old. While Einstein himself thought that the waves would be too weak to detect, a century later advances in technology have brought about a revolution in precision measurements that he could not have imagined. A pair of four kilometre long detectors, located in the US, are set to be switched on for the first time in Autumn 2015, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the theory of general relativity. The project involves many universities around the world, but physicists from Birmingham built the hardware for the detectors, which was shipped to the US. Sign up to our student life newsletter for news, opinion and advice on applications Download the Telegraph's Clearing app for iPhone and Android Picture: University of Birmingham

Credit : University of Birmingham