Great expectations were in the air for the future of physics when the first issue of PHYSICS TODAY appeared in May 1948. The applications of physics in World War II had created a new social environment for science in terms of public attitudes and government financial support. Among physicists themselves excitement was brewing over new experimental discoveries and theoretical interpretations in solid‐state and particle phenomena. At the same time, new instruments of unprecedented power and size were offering high hopes for probing both the smallest particles of matter and the largest dimensions of the universe. The birth of PHYSICS TODAY as a communication link among physicists, and between them and the larger community, reflected these events of the postwar years. The emergence of the new magazine in May—like the dedication in June of the 200‐inch Palomar telescope and the public announcement in July of the discovery of the transistor—was the culmination of a process that had been set in motion years earlier.
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May 1973
May 01 1973
Physics Today and the spirit of the Forties
When the magazine emerged 25 years ago, it reflected the hopes for science in the postwar period and focused attention on the new opportunities and environment for research.
Physics Today 26 (5), 23–28 (1973);