NASA heads back to the Moon
This week Lunar Prospector was successfully launched towards the Moon. It is NASA's first lunar mission in over 25 years
Author archive
Russian brain drain
Scientists in the Russian Federation are finding it increasingly hard to survive. Poor pay, outdated equipment and job insecurity have started large-scale emigration from the republics
Read article: Carbon nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes
Theory suggests that carbon nanotubes have a variety of useful properties, and experiments to test these predictions are just becoming possible
Priorities are a priority
Ideally you would consult a list of priorities and decide accordingly, taking into account national strengths, weaknesses and needs. But the chances of finding such a list of priorities are slim. Most governments have never asked for such a list and scientists have certainly never volunteered one. There are signs, however, that this is changing. […]
Pulsars, glitches and superfluids
These neutron stars usually rotate with such precision that they are known as the best timekeepers in the universe, but every so often their rotation rate suddenly increases. It is thought that these glitches are related to superfluidity inside the star, which allows the neutrons to flow without friction. Now, a group of Italian scientists […]
Ultraviolet catastrophe?
Synchrotron radiation is now used routinely in many areas of science. Many research groups, especially in physics, chemistry and biology, base large parts of their research programmes on the use of this type of radiation. There are also increasing numbers of scientists who find that a few days’ work at a synchrotron radiation source can […]
Nobel Prize winner calls for ethics oath
At a meeting last week on "Science & Responsibility", Joseph Rotblat, winner of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, called for scientists to sign the equivalent of a 'hippocratic' oath
Modelling electron orbits
In 1911 Niels Bohr used quantum theory to explain how negatively charged electrons could remain in certain orbits without radiating energy. Patent 5695344 describes an educational demonstrator that simulates the theoretical orbital motion of electrons around the nucleaus of various elements. The device works by magnetically deflecting a series of wires. Inside a container is […]
Royal observatory could be split up and sold off
All 115 staff at the 320-year-old Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) in Cambridge stand to lose their jobs, after a management buy-out was rejected last week
Highlights of the year
This year saw many advances in physics. PhysicsWeb has compiled a list of ten highlights (in no particular order) of 1997
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