Issues
Letters
Language of science I: Theories and laws
Language of science II: Degrees of knowing
Putting the brakes on the hurricane heat engine
Postscripts on geodynamo’s beginnings
Correction
Search and Discovery
Most luminous supernova ever seen may be manifesting a new eruption mechanism
A supernova is conventionally taken to be a star’s death knell. For the very brightest supernovae, that presumption may well be wrong.
Engineering the energy levels in quantum dots leads to optical gain
The achievement charts a straightforward path to the first colloidal quantum-dot lasers.
Radar reveals Mercury’s molten core
The answer to a long-standing question about Mercury’s interior sheds new light on the formation of the planet and the origin of its magnetic field.
Whiskers of tantalum trisulfide twist in response to an electric field
A coherent electronic structure known as a charge-density wave is responsible for the twist. How the whiskers pick a rotation direction is a mystery.
Quantum oscillations finally seen in high-temperature superconductors
The oscillations focus renewed attention on the nature of the Fermi surface near the onset of superconductivity.
Physics Update
Issues and Events
China’s space science prepares for liftoff
In its latest five-year plan, China backs an ambitious selection of space-science projects and encourages international collaborations.
Russia leads international team on revived UV space telescope
Thanks to an upswing in Russia’s economy, a long-dormant plan for a UV space telescope is now taking shape.
News Notes
Articles
The Genesis of the International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year of 1957–58 grew out of scientific interests, but also out of national interests, including the postwar reconstruction of Europe. Some say, though, that a chocolate layer cake was what sealed the deal.
From the archives: SCIENCE and the War on...
Scientists can and must take the initiative in helping society solve such problems as air and water pollution and crime. We need new instruments to measure pollution and new ways to reduce it. Because the crime rate is rising so rapidly, we require new methods of detection and deterrence.
The fundamental physical constants
Incorporating recent data, a new set of recommended values of the basic constants and conversion factors of physics and chemistry has just been issued.
What’s wrong with these stanzas?
Enough of idle talk and twaddle. Let’s celebrate the standard model.
Books
Intermolecular Interactions: Physical Picture, Computational Methods and Model Potentials
The Star Wars Enigma: Behind the Scenes of the Cold War Race for Missile Defense
New Products
We Hear That
Obituaries
Paul Christian Lauterbur
Kenneth Ingvard Greisen
Chauncey Starr
Quick Study
The case for extra dimensions
Spaces with more than three dimensions are consistent with known physics, can help solve a vexing problem in the standard model, and may soon be indirectly observed at the Large Hadron Collider.