Helping physics to help itself
There is no doubt that the world has an increasingly intense love-hate relationship with science. Physics certainly does not escape this deep ambivalence, and we naturally wonder if there is anything ...
Physics looks to thefuture
The three-day workshop was held in Debreccen in Hungary last month and involved physicists from both eastern and western Europe. Delegates were concerned about a number of ‘serious problems̵...
Science and societies
Two of the oldest and largest physical societies in the world celebrate anniversaries this year. The Institute of Physics, which publishes this magazine, can trace its roots back to the Physical Socie...
Learning lessons about ethics
To what extent should a formal education in ethics be part of the university physics curriculum? When this question is raised in the physics community, the response is often that there is no significa...
Book your busman’s holiday
When it comes to employing new graduates, scientific institutions are increasingly keen to take on people who have practical scientific experience as well as the academic understanding that a physics ...
How to rebuild Russian science
Transforming the Soviet Union’s highly centralized communist regime into an open, democratic society based on free-market principles has proved to be much harder than people at first thought. Li...
UK schools to get robotic telescope
Faulkes was educated at Hinckley Grammar School and at an early age specialised in science. He obtained a degree from Hull University and then went to London University to do a PhD in general relativi...
Hard facts for hard science
Here are two related problems. First, the number of applicants to UK university courses in the physical sciences has fallen by 26% over the last three years. Second, there is an increasing tide of opi...
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...
Physicist named as Japan’s minister for education and science
Arima has long been a keen advocate for reforming Japanese science. Previously he helped shape the 1996 Basic Law for Science and Technology, which aimed to increase Japan’s spending on science....
