Particle physics made easy
Is it possible to really understand asymptotic freedom, superstrings and other jargon from particle physics without knowing any relevant mathematics whatsoever? John Gribbin certainly thinks so. In a ...
Exams hinder critical thought
You might not have thought about this analogy before, but exams are rather like experiments. Both are designed to evaluate certain parameters. Lab experiments might measure things like temperature or ...
Challenges in the nanoworld
Sometime early in the next century the miniaturization of conventional electronic devices will grind to a halt. The inexorable progress that has seen the number of transistors on a single silicon chip...
Living with foresight
One side effect of the increasing emphasis on maximizing the economic return on public investments in science and technology has been the growth of “foresight exercises” around the world. ...
Revealing the invisible
Physicists, more than most people, are accustomed to dealing with gases. Yet even physicists often treat gases as something to be taken for granted, a sort of Platonic ideal with interesting or useful...
A tale of two councils
Two of the acronyms most frequently used by physicists in the UK celebrate their fourth birthdays this month. Between them the EPSRC and PPARC fund most of the research projects performed by physicist...
What is truth in science?
“What is Truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not wait for an answer.” Francis Bacon’s well known quotation shows Pilate to be a busy and sensible administrator, who was aware of pr...
What’s wrong with relativism?
In his article last year, the Belgian physicist Jean Bricmont separated out some of the distinct strands in “science studies” and tried to provide a considered critique of sociology and hi...
Astronomers are people too
Richard Preston is best known for his best-seller on the Ebola virus: The Hot Zone. Before that, he had written a book about a group of astronomers working at the Palomar Observatory in California. Th...
Do you know your stuff?
Here I am, sitting quietly and comfortably in front of my tiny wooden desk, typing these lines on the keyboard of my laptop computer, peeping from time to time through the light linen of the curtain a...
