There is no doubt that Italy is a world force in physics. When the nations of the world are ranked by the number of physics papers that they publish, Italy is sixth. It also makes the top ten when nations are ranked by the impact of their papers as measured by citations in other publications. […]
Read article: Returning to the Fermi level
New experiments are pushing our understanding of light and optics to the limit and are also opening up new areas of physics and novel applications
Read article: Rewriting the laws of optics
Everyday macroscopic objects follow the laws of classical mechanics. But for microscopic objects, such as atoms or nuclei, the wave character of their dynamics has to be taken into account within the framework of quantum mechanics. Wave-like behaviour can show up in various ways, and one of the most striking is the tunnelling effect. Similarly, […]
The Northern Lights is a well researched biographical tale of the Norwegian physicist and genius Kristian Birkeland, whose life was spent exclusively in pursuit of the scientific goal of understanding solar-terrestrial relationships. The author, Lucy Jago, has turned his life into a highly compelling story that keeps the reader interested, and also learning, as the […]
Read article: The quest for the Northern Lights
Cystal impurities in silicon can now be controlled to the level of one part in a billion, while major faults in the crystalline structure can be avoided. As techniques to control its growth have developed, the applications of silicon have been pushed in new directions. In addition, there is a constant drive to improve light […]
Frost bite, no toilets and polar bears - these are some of the hazards that physicists face when working in hostile environments. But, as Paula Gould reports, they seem to enjoy it
Read article: Physicists push themselves to the limit
A distant galaxy is imaged six times by the strong gravity of a galactic cluster
Read article: Six of the best for gravitational lens
Physicists double the temperature at which carbon-60 can superconduct
Entangled photons are amplified for the first time
A carbon-rich meteorite may be the first fragment ever found of a primitive class of asteroids
