Our understanding of the universe has advanced immeasurably in the last century, and there seems no end to the wealth of new discoveries as we approach the next millennium
Read article: Astrophysics and cosmology: the golden age
Even a decade and a half after the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in ceramic compounds containing copper-oxide planes, these materials continue to puzzle condensed-matter theorists. The challenge is not simply to find a reasonable formula that predicts the uniquely high values for the superconducting transition temperature in the cuprates. Rather, superconductivity is but one aspect […]
Read article: Explaining high-Tc superconductors
Although the basic building blocks of matter and their interactions have been placed on a firm theoretical footing, many fundamental questions remain unanswered and await the experiments of the future
Read article: Particle physics: the next generation
What happens when you ask some of the world's leading physicists seven questions about the past, present and future of physics?
Read article: Physics: past, present, future
Joseph Rotblat says scientists need to accept responsibility for the human and environmental consequences of their research,.
Read article: The social conscience of scientists
Advances in nanotechnology, information science and molecular biology continue at a rapid rate and are poised to spark a series of industrial revolutions in the next millennium
Read article: Industrial revolutions in the 21st century
Physicists have tried for years to develop a beam of atoms that could be focused as easily as electrons and photons. The helium atoms are fired at 1 km/s through a micron diameter nozzle past a set of fresnel plates – concentric rings of material of varying thickness. As the beam passes the plates, the […]
The UK government has been trying for some time to incorporate private-sector practices into government-run research centres. AWE Management replaces Hunting-BRAE, who were awarded a seven-year contract to manage the UK nuclear programme in 1993. BNFL is expected to manage waste, decommissioning and “legacy clean-up” operations, Lockheed will control weapons and technology, while Serco will […]
As a water molecule is excited by the laser pulse, it can only drop back to a less excited state by releasing the excess energy. This energy causes the O-H bonds to stretch and vibrate. As the bonds vibrate they knock other water molecules, transferring energy to a different O-H bond. This energy transfer can […]
The experiment was carried out inside a vacuum chamber filled with a low density nitrogen or argon gas. A wave plate – in the form of a small circular piece of material – was inserted into the beam to reduce the strength of the signal at the centre of the beam. A series of lenses […]
