Issues

Pulsed-electric-power drivers might be an efficient, low-tech alternative to lasers in the quest for an inertial-confinement thermonuclear reactor.

In a field dominated by superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), a rival technique has gotten a boost by operating in a new parameter regime.

Diffracted x rays reveal a sequence of structural changes in a levitated drop of metal as it cools and freezes.

Conducting stripes of gold foil can be stretched significantly when they’re stuck to a rubbery substrate.

A fast-growing new program aimed at fortifying science in the State Department is proving to be a hit with participating scientists, and with their home agencies and host embassies.

In an era when many international issues involve science, technology, or the environment, the infusion of scientists into the State Department is leading to better-informed foreign policy decisions. But those decisions are ultimately political, not scientific.

This year is the centennial of the Nobel Prize in Physics shared by Henri Becquerel and the Curies for their pioneering work on radioactivity. But Marie Curie’s contribution to the medical use of x rays is not widely known.

Why do information technology companies support exploratory research in physics and allied fields? The answer is simple—because of the need to bring new technology quickly to market. Ultimately, even long-term research is all about speed.

Interactions among electronic spins, charges, and orbitals account for a rich variety of patterns in some oxides, and—with the advent of new crystal-growth technologies—may form the basis for a new type of electronics.