In depth: Instrumentation & measurement

The road to sustainability

Oct 1, 2009 1 comment Feature

"Sustainability" is the hottest topic in energy research today, but what does it actually mean? George Crabtree and John Sarrao describe what makes a technology sustainable, and outline the materials-science challenges standing between us and clean, long-lasting energy

Your best unit

Sep 2, 2009 10 comments Opinion

Robert P Crease discusses the origin of some units of measurement, and asks for your favourites

Diamond coatings are branching out

Jul 31, 2009 Feature

Chris Walker looks at some of the uses of a novel amorphous diamond material

RGA User Group offers broad appeal

Jul 31, 2009 Feature

Robin Hathaway explains how a user group provides a forum for sharing experiences and discovering new ways to exploit the powerful diagnostic features of residual gas analysers across a wide range of applications

Chamber simulates space on Earth

Jul 31, 2009 Feature

Stan Grisnik describes how NASA’s huge craft-testing facility can recreate the vacuum conditions of space.

Threats to ultra-high-field MRI

Jul 31, 2009 2 comments Opinion

A new European directive designed to prevent workers from being exposed to high magnetic fields could potentially have a severe impact on research into magnetic resonance imaging, warns Denis Le Bihan

The power of robotics

Jun 2, 2009 2 comments Opinion

Robotics competitions supply a vital missing link in science and engineering education, says Robert P Crease

Web life: Hyperphysics

May 1, 2009 1 comment Review

Doing science in the open

May 1, 2009 12 comments Feature

Online networking tools are pervasive, but why have scientists been so slow to adopt many of them? Michael Nielsen explains how we can build a better culture of online collaboration

In search of the black swans

Apr 1, 2009 14 comments Feature

The publish-or-perish ethic too often favours a narrow and conservative approach to scientific innovation. Mark Buchanan asks whether we are pushing revolutionary ideas to the margins

Reasons to be cheerful

Jan 5, 2009 3 comments Opinion

The economy may be in a nosedive but there is plenty to look forward to in science this year

Seeing the quantum world

Dec 1, 2008 2 comments Feature

Barry Sanders explains how state-of-the-art animations are taking over the role of classic quantum-mechanical Gedanken experiments to help visualize the complexities and challenges of the new quantum technologies

A feast of visualization

Dec 1, 2008 Feature

As physics enters the age of the petabyte, pioneering methods of visualization are fast changing the way we understand and disseminate science. Opening this special issue, Physics World presents a gallery of stunning images from New Journal of Physics

...And now for the next 20 years

Oct 1, 2008 3 comments Feature

Six leading physicists peek into the future