Issues
Search and Discovery
Direct Measurement of the Sun’s Total Neutrino Output Confirms Flavor Metamorphosis
A kiloton of ultrapure heavy water lets a detector deep inside a Canadian mine record high-energy neutrinos from the Sun, regardless of flavor changes en route.
Bell Labs Convenes Committee to Investigate Questions of Scientific Misconduct
Is there an innocent explanation for the appearance of similar figures in different publications?
Researchers Combine Carbon Nanotubes with MEMS Technology to Make a Tiny Triode
Miniature on-chip vacuum tubes could power efficient wireless communication devices.
X-Ray Spectrum Challenges Models of Gamma-Ray Bursts
The debate is heating up: Does the progenitor of these powerful explosions collapse in one step or two?
Letters
Issues and Events
The Art of Selling Science in a Political World
To get policy-makers to pay attention to a new National Research Council report on the need for science funding at the boundary of physics and astronomy, an astrophysicist works the halls of power in Washington.
Search for Optical Gamma-Ray Burst Signals Ratchets Up
A smattering of robotic telescopes around the globe aims to crack the mysteries of gamma-ray bursts by watching them happen.
Articles
New Physics in Fusion Plasma Confinement
In the past two decades, the picture of fusion plasmas has changed. Once analogous to an obscure work of abstract art, it is now more like a landscape full of comprehensible features.
On the Road Again: Metal Foams Find Favor
Lightweight yet stiff, metal foams are experiencing a resurgence of interest for applications ranging from automobiles to dental implants.
Exploratory Experimentation: Goethe, Land, and Color Theory
The style of investigation exemplified by Goethe’s experiments with color is often undervalued, but has repeatedly proved its worth.