Buddhism beyond the bounds of belief
The mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once wrote: “When we consider what religion is for mankind, and what science is, it is no exaggeration to say that the future course of h...
Symmetry at the Alhambra
Anyone who visits the Alhambra palace in Granada will marvel at the intricate arabesque designs that decorate everything from the tiles and plasterwork to woodcarvings and the lattice-work in the wind...
Read article: Brain drains and gains
Brain drains and gains
Science is a truly international activity: indeed, Einstein told us that the laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe, not just everywhere on Earth. Mobility between nations has always ...
What’s hot – the ten best-selling physics books
Having just scooped this year’s Aventis Prize for Science Books, Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe shot back to the top of the best-seller list of physics books for the month of May at A...
Thomas Kuhn’s best-selling philosophy
Thomas Kuhn is famous for writing the surprise best-seller The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Who would have thought that a book published in 1962 on the history of science would turn out to be ...
Read article: A new framework for Europe
A new framework for Europe
Philippe Busquin, the European Union’s commissioner for research, has moved with remarkable speed since he was appointed last September. By January he had published a consultation paper on his b...
Read article: How to survive the 21st century
How to survive the 21st century
What is happening to the subject that we have loved and served? More than any other discipline, physics has transformed the face of civilization, particularly during the last century. It has developed...
Read article: Dedication celebrations at scientific labs
Dedication celebrations at scientific labs
Robert P Crease discusses the impulse to dedicate scientific instruments
Art and science draw together
“Science is more controversial than art can ever be.” Strange words for an artist, perhaps, but Cornelia Parker has been inspired by science for many years. Indeed, Parker’s “C...
Read article: Biological lessons for physicists
Biological lessons for physicists
Interdisciplinary research is currently in fashion, and no interface is more in vogue than that between physics and biology. But whereas the subject matter of, say, chemical physics or materials physi...
