1905: Einstein’s paper revolution
Outside it is a warm May evening, as two friends sit deep in discussion in a coffee house in Berne. “Besso, you must help me, I think I am going mad. How is it even thinkable that a light ray co...
Breaking free from the post-doc trap
Genevieve Haddad is typical of many scientists. She did a degree, a PhD and a post-doc, but then realized she did not want to spend the next few years of her life “getting to know more and more ...
Ten years after
The first news story in that first issue was a sneak preview of the Edwards’ report on the future of physics departments in UK universities, which concluded that 20 staff and 200 full-time-equiv...
Are science and religion compatible?
There is currently a considerable resurgence of interest in the debate between science and religion. This is evident in the writings of both “creation scientists” and “new age”...
From technology to jobs
Yet technology is now associated with unemployment and social distress in many countries, as the OECD notes. “However, technology per se is not the culprit, ” the report continues. “...
Physics top ten
Brief History of Time : From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen Hawking The author explores the outer reaches of our knowledge of astrophysics and the nature of time and the universe, and reviews ...
Putting the fizz back into physics
The fascination of physics, for me, lies in its supremely exotic nature. Although it is a subject grounded in experimental test and rigorous verification, it nonetheless spans an awesome range of weir...
In brief: Yuri Gagarin and Gregory Benford
Starman: Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin by Piers Bizony and Jamie Doran Bloomsbury p256 £12.59 On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human in history to leave the Earth’s...
Measuring up to advanced materials
Physics, chemistry and physical chemistry have undergone tremendous changes over the course of this century. In physics, the focus has shifted from atoms to subatomic particles, namely nuclear physics...
New money, new physics
The government plans to invest an extra £400m in new projects through the research councils, £300m in universities through a new Infrastructure Fund and another £300m for research in un...
