It’s now more than 40 years since the last person set foot on the Moon, but since then we’ve come to realize that the lunar surface is not only home to plenty of rare-earth elements, such as lanthanum and neodynium, but also to more than a billion tonnes of water-ice at the poles. Several US firms in fact have bold plans to mine those resources, as the cover story of the February issue of Physics World magazine makes clear.
One idea is to electrolyse the water into hydrogen and oxygen that could be used as a fuel source for operations on the Moon. Even more boldly, the water ice could be shipped to low Earth orbit, where it could be used to fuel space craft sent up from Earth. To find out more about whether those plans are realistic, do check out the February issue, which is now out online and through our app.
Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the challenges of “open data” – everyone’s up for it in principle, but making it work in practice is another thing altogether. There’s also a great feature on the future of iron-based superconductors by theorist Hideo Aoki and the discoverer of the first iron-based superconductor, Hideo Hosono. Don’t miss either our look at the future of particle colliders.
If you’re a member of the Institute of Physics (IOP), you can now enjoy immediate access to the new issue with the digital edition of the magazine on your desktop via MyIOP.org or on any iOS or Android smartphone or tablet via the Physics World app, available from the App Store and Google Play. If you’re not yet in the IOP, you can join as an IOPimember for just £15, €20 or $25 a year to get full access to Physics World both online and through the apps.
For the record, here’s a rundown of what is in the February issue.
• Collision course for next collider – It’s crunch time for the International Linear Collider as particle physicists eye up circular alternatives, as Matthew Chalmers reports
• Quantum-inspired art – A recent art exhibition in New York explored ways that quantum physics inspires graphic artists. Robert P Crease dropped in
• Creating better opportunities – With the number of PhD students in the UK growing at an ever-increasing pace, Luke Sibbett warns that a lack of funding for science could leave them with much poorer job prospects
• Let’s be open – Scientists, governments and funding agencies have for some time been pushing for data generated by publicly supported scientific research to be made available and free. But just how could “open data” work in practice? Jon Cartwright investigates
• One step from Earth – Now we know that the Moon’s poles hold millions of tonnes of water ice, firms in the US as well as the Indian and Chinese space agencies are planning to mine this resource and sell it to space missions as fuel. Richard Corfield reports
• A superconducting surprise comes of age – Seven years after the unexpected discovery of superconductivity in iron-based compounds, the study of these “surprise” superconductors is maturing. Hideo Aoki and the discoverer of the first iron-based superconductor, Hideo Hosono, review the field’s status and prospects
• Craft, science, early industry – Basil Mahon reviews James Watt: Making the World Anew by Ben Russell
• Ringing changes on vital innovation – Andrew Robinson reviews The Information Age: Six Networks That Changed Our World, edited by Tilly Blyth
• Operations research needs physicists – Operations researcher Stephen Coulson explains how a physicist’s skills are valued in a varied and interdisciplinary field that has expanded far beyond its defence origins
• Once a physicist – Meet Rexhep Meidani, who was the president of Albania between 1997 and 2002
• Mr Tompkins’ curious gloves – Oliver Linton muses on quantum physics in this month’s Lateral Thoughts
