O Nobel de Física de 2026 tem digital brasileira: a história em inglês, no seu nível
O Nobel de Física de 2026 foi para Francis Halzen, do IceCube, observatório de neutrinos na Antártida, e parte dos dados passou pelo GridUnesp. Leia a história em inglês, no seu nível.
World, meet Brazil · Edição #1
Boas notícias de brasileiros fazendo história, em inglês e no seu nível.
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Básico · A2 Frases curtas e palavras do dia a dia
A Nobel Prize with a Brazilian connection
Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is a scientist from Belgium and works in the United States.
He studies tiny particles called neutrinos. They are very hard to detect. Scientists call them "ghost particles".
Halzen helped create IceCube, a special observatory in Antarctica. It uses thousands of sensors in the ice to study these particles.
Brazil helped with this work, too. Unesp is a public university in the state of São Paulo. Its computer network, GridUnesp, processed some of the data from IceCube.
Brazilian scientist Sérgio Novaes and Halzen started working together in 1991. They also created student exchanges between their research groups.
Palavras para guardar
| prize | prêmio |
| scientist | cientista |
| tiny | muito pequeno |
| to detect | detectar, identificar |
| ice | gelo |
| data | dados |
| student exchange | intercâmbio |
Your turn
What area of science do you like? Complete the sentence: "I like ______ because ______."
De qual área da ciência você gosta?
Intermediário · B1/B2 Mais detalhes, como numa matéria de jornal
Brazilian computers help research behind the Nobel Prize
On October 6, Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. The Belgian physicist works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States. The award recognizes his work on IceCube and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space.
IceCube is an observatory in Antarctica. It uses thousands of sensors buried in the ice to detect neutrinos. These tiny particles rarely interact with matter, which makes them difficult to detect. This is why they are often called "ghost particles".
Brazil also played a part. GridUnesp, the computer network at São Paulo State University, processed some of IceCube's data. Unesp physicist Sérgio Novaes says the network has now supported research linked to three Nobel Prizes. The earlier projects involved the Higgs boson and gravitational waves.
Novaes and Halzen began working together in 1991. Their collaboration led to joint research at Wisconsin and student exchanges between their groups. The story connects a major scientific award with years of cooperation across borders.
Palavras para guardar
| to recognize | reconhecer |
| buried | enterrado |
| matter | matéria |
| to play a part | contribuir, ter participação |
| linked to | ligado a |
| joint research | pesquisa conjunta |
| student exchange | intercâmbio estudantil |
Your turn
Have you ever worked on a project with people from another city or country? Describe how you communicated and one challenge you faced.
Você já trabalhou em um projeto com pessoas de outra cidade ou país? Descreva como vocês se comunicavam e um desafio que enfrentaram.
Avançado · C1 O texto completo, com expressões e contexto
Ghost particles, Antarctic ice and Brazilian computing power
An observatory buried in Antarctic ice may seem an unlikely route to a Nobel Prize. Yet that is the setting for the work that earned Belgian physicist Francis Halzen the 2026 award in physics, announced on October 6.
Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Halzen helped turn Antarctic ice into a detector for high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. These elusive particles interact so weakly with matter that they are known as "ghost particles". IceCube uses thousands of buried sensors to detect evidence of their passage and help researchers trace where they came from.
Part of that investigation relied on Brazilian computing power. GridUnesp, the computing infrastructure at São Paulo State University, processed some of the experiment's data. According to Unesp physicist Sérgio Novaes, it also supported research associated with the Higgs boson and LIGO's detection of gravitational waves. This makes the 2026 prize the third Nobel linked to research that benefited from GridUnesp's processing capacity.
The partnership has a personal history, too. Novaes and Halzen first crossed paths in 1991, when they shared research interests. Their collaboration developed into joint work at Wisconsin and opportunities for student exchanges. Novaes described the award as a deeply moving recognition of a colleague he holds dear.
This Brazilian connection highlights the collaboration behind the individual honor: people sharing expertise, infrastructure and opportunities across borders. Behind most individual honors, it turns out, there is a network of people who learned to work, and talk, together.
Palavras para guardar
| elusive | difícil de detectar ou encontrar |
| to trace | rastrear, identificar a origem de |
| to rely on | depender de, contar com |
| processing capacity | capacidade de processamento |
| to cross paths | cruzar caminhos, conhecer-se |
| deeply moving | profundamente emocionante |
| to hold someone dear | ter muito carinho ou apreço por alguém |
| laureate | laureado, pessoa que recebeu um prêmio |
Your turn
Big prizes go to one name, but science is teamwork. Think of a team you were part of: whose contribution deserved more credit, and why?
Pense em uma equipe da qual você fez parte: a contribuição de quem merecia mais reconhecimento, e por quê?
Fontes
- Jornal da Unesp: Francis Halzen recebe o Nobel de Física de 2026 (06/10/2026)
- Jornal da Unicamp: cientistas comemoram Nobel para estudo sobre neutrinos (06/10/2026)
Os comentários de Sérgio Novaes foram adaptados em discurso indireto a partir da reportagem do Jornal da Unesp.
Do ler ao falar
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Ver o calendárioMais da edição #1: Alison dos Santos concorre ao prêmio de Atleta do Ano de 2026 no atletismo · Startup de cientistas da USP capta R$ 8,4 milhões para laboratório automatizado na Amazônia · Tim Bernardes leva voz e violão ao Tiny Desk, da NPR · Estudante de Ourilândia do Norte (PA) ganha ouro na Olimpíada Internacional de Astronomia e Astrofísica
