A history of the electron with no holes
A full review by Per Dahl, formerly at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, appears in the December issue of Physics World. Somewhat for convenience, the simplistic answer to the question “...
Read article: Werner Heisenberg: controversial scientist
Werner Heisenberg: controversial scientist
Some 100 years after the father of the uncertainty principle was born, historians of science continue to debate the role that Werner Heisenberg played during the Second World War
Read article: Nobel population 1901-50: anatomy of a scientific elite
Nobel population 1901-50: anatomy of a scientific elite
On 10 December this year the Nobel Foundation will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the award of the first Nobel prizes. As the winners of this year’s physics prize – Eric Cornell, Wolfg...
Read article: Secret letters cast light on Copenhagen
Secret letters cast light on Copenhagen
When the author Michael Frayn spent two years writing Copenhagen, he had no idea how successful the play would become. He doubted that audiences would sit through a historical drama about a war-time m...
Read article: Isaac Newton: the gifted genius
Isaac Newton: the gifted genius
It seems unlikely that we will ever lose our fascination for the man whom David Berlinski calls “the largest figure in the history of Western science” and the author of “the greatest...
Read article: Not the right stuff
Not the right stuff
Almost 40 years later, as the International Space Station takes shape, history is repeating itself. Of course, the space station has never been a scientific mission – its main purpose has always...
How Britain was saved by radar
I was recently 60 feet underground in the museum attached to the old operations room of 11 group at Uxbridge, one of the nerve centres of the Battle of Britain, staring at pictures of senior Royal Air...
Read article: Dirac, Einstein and physics
Dirac, Einstein and physics
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: Physics: past, present, future
Physics: past, present, future
What happens when you ask some of the world's leading physicists seven questions about the past, present and future of physics?
Read article: Atomic secrets and the red scare
Atomic secrets and the red scare
Almost everyone has heard of the “Oppenheimer affair”. It took place between 1953-54 when the father of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, was subjected to a humiliating show trial by th...
