Our greatest endeavour in basic science over the past century has, undoubtedly, been the study of the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces. Although the general theory of relativity was formulated ...
Read article: Dirac, Einstein and physics
Immediately after humans discovered writing, they must also have discovered that concealing information is almost as important as expressing it. They also learned that there is nothing more fascinatin...
Read article: Coded secrets cracked open
Originally inspired by the astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan, Lynda Williams began singing about her favourite subject – physics – in 1995. At the time she was a graduate physi...
One of the challenges facing any physics magazine is to adequately cover the activities and interests of physicists working in industry. For a long time Physics World has followed a policy that the be...
Publishers seem to have hit on a winning formula for non-fiction books in recent years. Take a seemingly esoteric subject, mix in lots of history, add plenty of anecdotes, keep it short, and print the...
Read article: Solving a knotty problem
One of my initial goals when I enrolled on my teacher-training course at Warwick University in 1996 was to develop a portfolio of demonstrations that would entertain, interest and also educate a class...
Two of the outstanding challenges in physics identified in our millennium survey last month were the nature of “dark matter” and a proper understanding of nuclear structure. This month we ...
As a physicist, you have the advantage of a three-way choice when it comes to developing a career. You can become a scientist, opt for work that involves science outside the laboratory, or consider of...
For as long as I can remember, the major research universities in the US have repeated the mantra that “good research makes good teaching”. When challenged about the need for investment in...
A more detailed review by Phil Anderson of Princeton University, US is in the November issue of Physics World magazine. This delightfully written little book is full of typically Dysonian intellectual...
