In 2008, the greatest experiment in history began. When in full operation, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will generate the greatest amount of information that has ever been produced in an experiment before. It will also reveal some of the most fundamental secrets of nature. Despite the enormous amount of information available on this…

This article presents an approach to integrate contemporary physics into high-school teaching. We present a simple way to understand mass spectroscopy using basic physics concepts, so that high-school students may have contact with recent topics of modern research. The main features of a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer using secondary…

Finite element modelling software has been used to allow secondary school students to study nanoscale magnetic materials for hard drive recording applications. The students were introduced to the basic concepts of finite element modelling using a freely available internet game before modelling the magnetization reversal of single magnetic grains.…

Physics, engineering and technology increasingly play a critical role in many sports, enabling athletes to go the extra proverbial mile and surpass their own limits. However, it is not only the competitive elite who benefit from advances in equipment design; many sports have been made safer and more accessible through science and innovation.…

Sea ice in the polar regions plays a key role in both regulating global climate and maintaining marine ecosystems. The international Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment (SIPEX) explored the sea ice zone around Antarctica in September and October 2007, investigating relationships between the physical sea ice environment and the structure of…

Reports on project intended to establish how electrical resistance, Hall voltage, and magnetoresistance change when a thin film specimen is subjected to mechanical strain. Found resistance of semiconducting film of indium arsenide and indium antimonide decreases with tension and increases with compression. (LS)

This article explains the significance of a transit of Venus and relates scientists' efforts at making precise observations of transits over the past 250 years.

In 2005 the European particle physics masterclasses attracted 3000 students from 18 European countries to visit one of 58 universities and education centres. The participants worked with data from real high energy particle collisions, learned about particle physics, and experienced research and education environments at European universities. In…

In this exercise the US Standard Atmosphere is used as "data" that a student is asked to model by deriving equations to reproduce it with the help of spreadsheet and graphing software. The exercise can be used as a laboratory or an independent study for a student of introductory physics to provide an introduction to scientific research…

Discusses new roles for physics research in cooperating with other sciences and applying physical principles for the general benefit of mankind. (MLH)

Discusses various definitions of physics, citing those characteristics that distinguish physics from other studies. (MLH)

Discusses the fact that physics research today is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and deals with technological applications and new interdisciplinary areas. (MLH)

If we want to integrate science into society as part of modern culture, we should first ensure that we know about the image that its citizens hold, starting with the students themselves. One of the aims of this could be to increase the number of students studying physics when at present they appear to be in decline. In this paper, we analyse the…