In depth: Nuclear & particle physics

A very good Englishman

Nov 2, 2009 Review

Graham Farmelo examines the letters of nuclear theorist Rudolf Peierls

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

Of gluons, atoms and strings

Sep 1, 2009 Feature

An unusual alliance between physicists who study ultrahot plasmas and ultracold atoms is yielding intriguing results – and may even lead to an experimental test for string theory, as Barbara Jacak reveals

From prairie to energy frontier

Jul 31, 2009 Review

Robert Roser examines the history of Fermilab

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

The nuclear threat: a new start

Feb 2, 2009 Opinion

As US President Barack Obama takes office, his leadership will be needed to reduce the dangers of the world’s nuclear weapons and to stop nuclear materials from falling into rogue hands, argues Sidney Drell

Atomic arias

Jan 5, 2009 1 comment Review

Oppenheimer takes centre stage, reports Robert P Crease

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

The large hadron computer

Oct 31, 2008 Feature

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

...And now for the next 20 years

Oct 1, 2008 3 comments Feature

Six leading physicists peek into the future

The global-village pioneers

Oct 1, 2008 1 comment Feature

Paul Ginsparg, who founded the arXiv e-print archive, recounts the early days of the Web and looks at how it has changed scientific communication