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In depth: November 2008
Features
The large hadron computer
Plans for dealing with the torrent of data from the Large Hadron Collider’s detectors have made the CERN particle-physics lab, yet again, a pioneer in computing as well as physics. Andreas Hirstius describes the challenges of processing and storing data in the age of petabyte science
Jenoptik looks to solar for future growth
Michael Mertin is the man responsible for Jenoptik's recent restructure and securing future growth. Jacqueline Hewett asks him how heavily photovoltaics features in these plans
Plasmonics propagates into new optical fields
Marie Freebody speaks to Niek van Hulst about the potential wealth of applications for plasmonics
Menlo takes frequency combs to the masses
Nadya Anscombe discovers how Nobel prize winning research has been turned into a practical product
Optical tweezers: where physics meets biology
Joost van Mameren explains how quantitative force measurements by optical tweezers can unravel the mechanical properties of biological molecules
Measuring ultrashort pulses needs precision
Marie Freebody speaks to Rick Trebino about the intricacies of measuring ultrashort pulses and how the devices that characterize such pulses can be commercialized
Phoenix unlocks the icy history of Mars
Jacqueline Hewett speaks to Peter Smith, the principal investigator on NASA's Phoenix mission to Mars
Opinion
Has Bush been good for science?
As US President George W Bush’s eight-year term in office comes to an end, his official science advisor John H Marburger argues that science in the US is flourishing following a decade of increased federal spending
Beauty and the beast
In his 100th column for Physics World, Robert P Crease examines the Large Hadron Collider – the biggest physics experiment of all time – and wonders whether we can call it “beautiful”
