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Strange Genius: The Life and Times of Paul Dirac

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Print edition - index 1998

Articles without links appear in the print edition of the magazine only.

Acoustics

  • Of seas and surgeries: acoustics of the future Aug p25

Applications

Astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology

  • Red herrings put to rest Jan p5
  • Astronomers fight to defend frequencies Jan p10
  • The $500m telescope Jan p10
  • Pulsars, glitches and superfluids Jan p25
  • Heavyweight joins neutrino search Feb p9
  • Australia joins Gemini Mar p7
  • Evidence for anti-gravity Apr p12
  • Five-year phone dispute ends Apr p12
  • Gamma-ray bursts Apr p31
  • All feature great and small May p26
  • Gamma-ray burst lights up theories Jun p5
  • Australia plans gravitational telescope Sep p9
  • Ultraviolet astronomers look to space Sep p9
  • Astronomers silence satellites Sep p11
  • Supernova shock for gamm-ray bursts Nov p5

Atomic and molecular physics

  • Exotic adventures en route to the antiworld Jan p29
  • Atom lasers go for gain Mar p5
  • Atomic precision pays off in the nucleus Apr p27
  • Rydberg states form molecular probes Jul p5
  • Hydrogen condensate is go Aug p5
  • Atoms join in the race for lithography in the next century Aug p23
  • Traps for molecules Oct p5
  • Triple first for atoms Oct p5
  • Interference destroyed by entanglement Nov p24

Australia

  • The $500m telescope Jan p10
  • High energy down under Jan p21
  • Australia joins Gemini Mar p7
  • Australia plans gravitational telescope Sep p9

Austria

  • Austria keeps faith with neutron source Jan p7

Awards and prizes

  • 1998 Institute of Physics awards Jan p62
  • Duddell Jan p62
  • Maxwell Jan p62
  • Kelvin Jan p62
  • Paterson Jan p63
  • Rutherford Jan p63
  • Quantum effects clinch Wolf prize Feb p51
  • 1998 Institute awards Feb p56
  • Holweck Feb p56
  • Max Born Feb p56
  • Harrie Massey Feb p56
  • Honorary Fellow Feb p56
  • 1998 teachers awards: rewarding excellence Mar p72
  • Electron correlations win Europhysics prize for condensed matter theorist Jun p45
  • Earthquake scientists win Crafoord prize Jun p47
  • Anomaly leads to Dirac Medal Oct p49
  • Adventures near absolute zero in liquid helium clinch Simon prize Oct p52
  • Quantum clean sweep for Nobel prizes Nov p7
  • Fractional electrons clinch Nobel prize Nov p49

Biophysics

Books reviewed

  • Science in the 20th Century, John Krige and Dominique Pestre (ed) Jan p49
  • The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the Universe(s) Report, Timothy Ferris Jan p50
  • Beyond Star Trek: Physics from Alien Invasions, Lawrence Krauss Jan p52
  • The Scientist as Consultant, Carl Sinderman and Thomas Sawyer Feb p47
  • In Search of Lost Time, Derek York Feb p48
  • The Nature of Diamonds, George Harlow (ed) Feb p49
  • Pluto and Charon: Icy Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System, Alan Stern and Jaqueline Mitton Mar p59
  • Stuff: The Materials the World is Made of, Ivan Amato Mar p60
  • Simulations for Solid State Physics: An Interactive Resource for Students and Teachers, Mar p62
  • To Light Such a Candle, Keith Laidler Apr p43
  • The Truth of Science: Physical Theories and Reality, Roger Newton Apr p44
  • S Chandrasekhar - The Man Behind the Legend, Kameshwar Wali (ed) Apr p46
  • Industrial Gases, Neil Downie May p51
  • Pierre-Simon Laplace 1749-1827: A Life in Exact Science, Charles Coulston Gillespie May p52
  • Critical Problems in Physics, Val Fitch, Daniel Marlow and Margit Dementi (ed) May p53
  • Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century and Beyond, Michio Kaku Jun p41
  • Edmond Halley: Charting the Heavens and the Seas, Alan Cook Jun p42
  • Philosophical Concepts in Physics: the Hiastorical Relation Between Philosophy and Scientific Theories, James Cushing Jun p43
  • Copenhagen, Michael Frayn Jul p35
  • Impossibility, John Barrow Jul p36
  • Ripples on a Cosmic Sea: The Search for Gravitational Waves, David Blair and Geoff McNamara Jul p37
  • Master of Modern Physics: The Scientific Contribution of H A Kramers, Dirk ter Haar Aug p55
  • The Ascent of Science, Brian Silver Aug p56
  • Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century, Philip Ball Aug p57
  • Arnold Weinstock and the Making of GEC, Stephen Aris Sep p47
  • Weinstock: the Life and Times of Britain's Premier Industrialist, Alex Brummer and Roger Cowe Sep p47
  • Commercialising New Technologies: Getting from Mind to Market, Vijay Jolly Sep p48
  • Belief in God in an Age of Science, John Polkinghorne Sep p49
  • On Giants' Shoulders: Great Scientists and Their Discoveries from Archimedes to DNA, Melvyn Bragg and Ruth Gardiner Oct p45
  • A Scientists' Tools for Business: Metaphors and Modes of Thought, Robert Sproull Oct p46
  • Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics, John Stachel (ed) Oct p47
  • The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin of Life, Paul Davies Nov p45
  • Science in Public: Communication, Culture and Credibility, Jane Gregory and Steve Miller Nov p46
  • Time's Pendulum: The Quest to Capture Time from Sundials to Atomic Clocks, Jo Ellen Barnett Nov p47

Canada

  • Heavyweight joins neutrino search Feb p9
  • Budget exceeds expectation Apr p8

Careers and employment

  • Physicist investigates new approach to forensic science at the FBI Jan p12
  • From plasma physics to profits Feb p13
  • Take a new approach to your career Feb p71
  • Take a new approach to your career Mar p71
  • Rocket science for high-fliers May p7
  • How healthy is your career?, May p15
  • Risk pays off for City physicists Jun p11
  • Undergraduates aim for high finance Sep p8

CERN

  • US signs up to LHC Jan p8
  • What will follow the LHC? Apr p11
  • Japan gives more cash for LHC Jun p12
  • CERN takes India off agenda Jul p11
  • UK to build CERN detectors Aug p14
  • Sweden delays CERN pull-out Aug p14
  • CERN shortens LEP extension Nov p7

Chaos, complexity and nonlinearity

  • Fractals reveal cancer ... Feb p5
  • ...but is nature fractal? Feb p5

China

  • China to go alone Feb p14
  • China plans $25m telescope May p13

Climate change and the environment

  • Nations agree to cut emissions Jan p14
  • Climate change: the challenges Feb p17
  • Climate change: some solutions Apr p23
  • Climate change and energy use Jun p15
  • Satellite senses warming Sep p5

Computation and software

  • Teraflop attempt Mar p12
  • Computers made to tolerate defects Oct p24
  • Speedy computer switches on Nov p14
  • Citation management software Nov p59

Condensed matter

  • Carbon nanotubes Jan p33
  • Superhard superlattices Jan p45
  • Ion beams help diamond rise from the ashes Feb p26
  • Quantum friction across the vacuum Feb p27
  • Light emission moves into the blue Feb p31
  • Ultrasound puts materials to the test Feb p41
  • Atom lasers go for gain Mar p5
  • Suction power provides a new route to make microdrops Mar p27
  • Quantum evaporation reveals Bose condensate in superfluid helium Mar p29
  • Tiny device measures tiny changes Apr p5
  • Microscopy breaks the speed limit Apr p26
  • Listening to the sound of broken Apr p29
  • Staring into a pint: fascinated by foam, May p27
  • Soft lithography and microfabrication May p31
  • Sonoluminescence: the star in a jar May p38
  • Challenges in the nanoworld Jun p3
  • Superfluid helium as a vacuum Jun p19
  • New views on electron scattering Jun p21
  • Worm-like micelles stir up a storm Jun p22
  • Soft matter in the real world Jun p23
  • Molecules, anophysics and nanoelectronics Jun p29
  • Quantum dots Jun p35
  • Nanotubes on display Jul p5
  • Simulations produce weird wires Jul p18
  • Cones, creases and crumpled sheets Jul p19
  • Half-metals experience ups and downs Jul p22
  • Negative resistance puzzles researchers Aug p5
  • How does thin film rupture? Aug p24
  • Microscopes get to the point Aug p26
  • Magic triangle form on silicon Sep p24
  • Single-electron transistors Sep p29
  • One-dimensional conductors Sep p41
  • Nanotubes show strength Oct p5
  • Superconductivity debate gets ugly Oct p12
  • Electronics put it on plastic Oct p21
  • Optical lattices Oct p27

Denmark

  • Election ousts Danish ministers Apr p12
  • Denmark squeezes research May p13
  • Small in size, high on impact May p55

Education

Energy

  • Air pollution: the role of particles Jan p39
  • Is physics sustainable? Aug p17
  • Global challenges Aug p29
  • Fuel cells: power for the future Aug p31
  • Optical sensors: a path to better gas detection Aug p37
  • The physics of El Niño Aug p41
  • Thermophotovoltaics: the potential for power Aug p49

Europe

  • ESF ends year with a splash Jan p57
  • EU investment falls behind Apr p9
  • Europe encourages women scientists and patent reforms Jun p12
  • EU advisory bodies slim down Aug p14
  • COST adds value to Euro collaboration Aug p59
  • A European dimension for physics education in universities Sep p51

European Physical Society

  • European Physical Society elects new president May p57

European Science Foundation

  • Building a firm foundation for the future, Apr p49
  • Decision on ESA reforms delayed May p12

European Space Agency

  • Space cuts continue Mar p12
  • Management overhauled Apr p11
  • ESA argues over mission merger Jun p8
  • Scientists reject merged mission Jul p9
  • Earth calling SOHO - where are you? Aug p11
  • SOHO back in the sunlight Oct p9

European Union

  • New rules for the 5th Jan p15
  • EU increases access to facilities Jan p57
  • Fourth programme added to 5th framework Feb p14
  • Ministers cut budget Mar p9

Facilities

  • Austria keeps faith with neutron source Jan p7
  • Sun sets on SOLEIL synchrotron Jan p7
  • Ultraviolet catastrophe? Jan p17
  • France closes neutron source Feb p8
  • Countries launch campaign for access to ESRF Feb p52
  • Giant telescope awaits first light May p7
  • New magnet sets record Oct p13
  • Scatterers need more time Nov p14

Finland

  • Small in size, high on impact May p55

France

  • Sun sets on SOLEIL synchrotron Jan p7
  • SPIRAL debuts to mixed fortunes Feb p7
  • Government tells CEA; no more PhDs Feb p11
  • France fails to innovate Mar p11
  • French science in a state of flux Mar p14
  • Astronomers focus on the future Apr p7
  • France encourages innovation Apr p12
  • New face at nuclear labs promises fresh links for researchers May p9
  • Clash spurs reforms at research council Jun p7
  • Reforms aim to level playing field Jun p10
  • Common framework for Europe moves closer Jul p8
  • Scientists to be evaluated by new rules Aug p12
  • Research suffers in French budget Oct p8
  • Scientists bewildered by reform plans Nov p9
  • Confusion at IN2P3 Nov p14

Fusion

  • ITER must make its case Mar p3
  • Fusion partners vote to cut costs Mar p7
  • JET dispute escalates Apr p12
  • Next step for fusion May p13
  • American hesitation puts ITER in limbo Aug p8
  • US recalls fusion scientists Nov p8

Germany

  • Germany predicts future markets Mar p9
  • Max Planck society looks to nest century Apr p9
  • German nanotechnology boost Apr p12
  • Green coalition plans nuclear shutdown Nov p9

History of physics

Hungary

  • Hungary celebrates centenary of nuclear physicist Apr p51

India

  • India backs renewables Jul p7

Industry and innovation

  • Independent approach to collaboration Jan p11
  • European defence moves Jan p15
  • US workers win productivity battle Feb p10
  • Innovators under the probe Feb p14
  • Euro threat to small firms Mar p11
  • Plessey sold to Mitel Mar p12
  • 2005: a pause for silicon? Mar p21
  • Superconducting futures for Europe Mar p65
  • Living with foresight May p3
  • AEA reorganizes in attempt to double turnover May p12
  • Revealing the invisible May p51
  • Industrialists plot R&D route from science to the market place May p61
  • Little ventured for physics Aug p10
  • >From technology to jobs Sep p3
  • Siemens plant looks for buyer Sep p11
  • Weinstock: GEC's leading light Sep p47
  • Turning technology into sales Sep p48
  • Big science eyes industry Oct p9
  • Where will technology take us? Oct p15

Institute of Physics

  • Attracting teenagers to physics Feb p55
  • Fellow receive New Year awards Feb p57
  • Congress debate on industrial R&D Feb p58
  • Institute council, senior staff and honorary officers Feb p60
  • Take a new approach to your career Feb p71
  • Policy issues Mar p74
  • President champions physics Mar p75
  • Physicists converge on annual congress May p60
  • Electronic pulling power Jun p50
  • New dimensions for branches Sep p55
  • Institute of Physics salary survey: facts, figures and job satisfaction Nov p53

International

  • Concluding advice Mar p12
  • Who spends what - and where Aug p9
  • The secret of a successful mission Aug p11
  • US tops research league table Nov p10

Internet

Ireland

  • Bureaucracy blocks R&D May p8
  • Irish examine future of science Jul p11

Italy

  • An end to red tape Jan p13
  • Space agency thinks small Jan p13
  • Researchers dealt a double blow Feb p10

Japan

  • Recruitment problems tackled by White paper Jan p8
  • Cuts undermine neutrino breakthrough Jul p9
  • Japanese physicist elected Aug p14
  • ...as reformer takes over in Japan Oct p11
  • Japan supports fast breeders Oct p14

Lasers and optics

Lateral thoughts

  • On human detectors Jan p76
  • Litre, cubic metre and five baths full Feb p72
  • Electoral Science Mar p92
  • Decline increasing: normality declining, Apr p68
  • Dial "p" for pizza, May p76
  • Anti-gravity meets fantasy football, Jun p64
  • Tempoa mutantur, Jul p56
  • Today's enemy Aug p84
  • Tabular physics Sep p72
  • The old boys' meeting Oct p64
  • Mind your language! Nov p72

Metrology

  • G hangs in the balance Mar p5

Microscopy

  • More than just seeing the surface Aug p69

Miscellaneous

  • The physics of football Jun p25
  • The Richard Feynman experience Oct p3
  • Rubbia plans space mission Oct p14
  • Sicilian brings science to the masses Nov p11

Netherlands

  • New government cuts research budget Sep p10

New Zealand

  • New Zealanders fight to stay in touch Nov p12

Norway

  • Small in size, high on impact May p55

Nuclear physics

  • SPIRAL debuts to mixed fortunes Feb p7
  • Reshaping radioactivity Apr p5
  • Titanium-44 gets a lifetime Jul p22
  • A new spin on nuclei Jul p25
  • Laser spectroscopy probes the nucleus Oct p39
  • UK plans £65m facility Nov p13

Nuclear power

  • New contractor at BNL Jan p15
  • Nuclear firms prepare for merger Feb p11
  • Bigger role for nuclear body Feb p14
  • War of words over waste Mar p11
  • Alternatives to nuclear power May p21
  • Dounreay - the final shutdown Jul p7
  • France has new regulator Aug p12
  • Green coalition plans nuclear shutdown Nov p9

Nuclear weapons

  • Test ban progress May p13
  • India masters weapons technology Jun p8
  • Return to Doomsday Jul p3
  • Test fallout clouds picture Jul p8
  • Nuclear stockpile generates new science Jul p39
  • Bomb monitoring attacked Aug p8
  • Scientists fall foul of US sanctions Sep p7

Obituaries

  • Yuri Gribov Jan p58
  • Ros Driver Jan p59
  • David Schramm Mar p68
  • Reginald Jones Mar p69
  • Thomas Bullen Mar p69
  • Sir Sam Curran May p58
  • Franz Kahn May p58
  • Sir Charles Frank Jun p48
  • Christopher Milner Jun p49
  • John Mills Jul p41
  • Joan Freeman Jelley Aug p62
  • Sir Robert Clayton Sep p53
  • Brenda Yates Sep p53
  • Allan MacLeod Cormack Sep p54
  • Edward Charles Lightowlers Oct p50
  • John Edward Geake Oct p51
  • Frederick Reines Nov p51
  • Dennis Hamilton Nov p51
  • Sir Alan Walsh Nov p52

Oceanography

  • The physics of El Niño Aug p41

Particle physics

  • Melting the vacuum Feb p29
  • New light on photon mass Apr p5
  • CPT survives the test Jun p5
  • Antimatter hunt heads for space Jun p7
  • Cuts undermine neutrino breakthrough Jul p9
  • Neutrino mass discovered Jul p17
  • B factory goes on target Sep p11
  • The Standard Model triumphs again Sep p26
  • Neutrino rivals to talk Oct p9

Philosophy of science

  • Knowing reality through society Mar p23
  • What's wrong with relativism? Apr p19
  • What is truth in science? Apr p44
  • Striking back at sociology May p19
  • Physicists debate meaning of science Jun p9
  • Predictive power Jun p15
  • Good ammunition for the science wars Jun p43
  • Politically correct, Jul p15
  • Talking physics with the Dalai Lama Aug p13
  • A sociologist says Aug p19
  • Buddhist dialogue Schopper H Oct p17
  • What revolution? Nov p3

Plasma physics

  • Ready, steady, plasma May p13
  • Plasma boost for particles Sep p5

Publishing and public understanding

  • Centres of the universe Jan p15
  • Cosmology to attract the young Jan p64
  • How to deal with mistakes Feb p3
  • Americans like it, but are awful at it Aug p9
  • Communications at the crossroads Nov p46

Quantum physics

  • Teleportation takes off Jan p5
  • Teleportation: who was first? Mar p23
  • Pauli principle combats quantum noise Mar p30
  • Quantum information Mar p33
  • Quantum cryptography Mar p41
  • Quantum computation Mar p47
  • All features great and small May p26
  • Quantum computers shape up for the future Jun p5
  • Quantum dots Jun p35
  • Finding a path to quantum computing Aug p60
  • Quantum info moves on Nov p5
  • Interference destroyed by entanglement Nov p24

Russia

  • Russian lab defies closure Feb p9
  • Russia restructured Feb p14
  • Students rally against funding cuts May p11

Science policy

Sociology of Science

  • Social talk Feb p21

South Africa

  • South Africa plans new telescope Jul p8

Space science and the solar system

  • Second thoughts about life on Mars Jan p9
  • Planets pass the test Feb p5
  • Danes seek meteorite Feb p12
  • Pathfinder leads the way to the red planet Feb p28
  • Planetary discs revealed May p5
  • X-rays resolve solar heat Jul p5
  • Is there ice on the moon? Nov p21

Students

Superconductivity

  • Experiments look set to resolve superconductivity debate Jan p28
  • Heated exchange Feb p22
  • Superconducting futures for Europe Mar p65
  • Stripes penetrate superconductors Jul p20
  • Layers under strain show higher Tc Sep p5
  • Superconductivity debate gets ugly Oct p12
  • High-temperature superconductors learn from heavy fermions Oct p22

Sweden

  • Small in size, high on impact May p55
  • Sweden delays CERN pull-out Aug p14

Switzerland

  • Swiss science - still on top of the world? Sep p12

UK

  • Royal observatory split up and sold off? Jan p9
  • Independent approach to collaboration Jan p11
  • Universities face further funding costs Jan p11
  • Peer review is reviewed Jan p15
  • Planning the possibilities for big science Jan p53
  • UK focuses on research strengths and opportunities Feb p7
  • Science bids for lottery money Feb p8
  • Status quo in the UK Feb p12
  • Taken for granted Feb p22
  • Science minister focuses on physics Feb p57
  • New physics and materials grants are squeezed Mar p12
  • UK demands cash boost Mar p12
  • A tale of two councils Apr p3
  • UK minister praises physics Apr p7
  • Diversification agency to be created Apr p8
  • New ideas for university reform await new money Apr p10
  • Government raises profile of science Apr p11
  • New agendas need new visions Apr p15
  • Astronomy, particle physics and crisis management Apr p21
  • Whitehall, Westminster and Swindon Apr p53
  • Students face new exams May p8
  • Universities and industry work towards prosperity as peace beckons, May p10
  • Students prefer to mix and match Jun p9
  • New money, new physics Aug p3
  • Cash bonanza for UK science Aug p7
  • Call for industrial links Aug p12
  • Grant boost for PhD students Sep p7
  • Blue-skies projects bring more success Sep p10
  • Masters degrees threatened Oct p7
  • Courses face equality test Nov p10
  • UK plans £65m facility Nov p13
  • Before the gold rush Nov p13

US

  • US signs up to LHC Jan p8
  • Physicist investigates new approach to forensic science at the FBI Jan p12
  • Cash injected into US physics education Jan p56
  • Lobby efforts pay off for US scientists Mar p8
  • Clinton appoints physicist as science advisor Mar p9
  • US in visa battle Apr p9
  • Tobacco and transport threaten science May p9
  • Brookhaven lab faces reviews Jul p11
  • American hesitation puts ITER in limbo Aug p8
  • Science policy: straight talk in the US Oct p10
  • Warm reception to new science policy Nov p8
  • NASA boost for space station Nov p14

Women in physics

  • Women monitored Jan p15