Discusses how the British Post Office is using the Prestel information retrieval system. The information structure adopted for the Prestel databases and how the Prestel system hardware works are presented. Computer system software, types of information, and the impact of Prestel system on society are also presented. (HM)

Discussed are medical applications of ultrasound. The physics of the wave nature of ultrasound including its propagation and production, return by the body, spatial and contrast resolution, attenuation, image formation using pulsed echo ultrasound techniques, measurement of velocity and duplex scanning are described. (YP)

Provides an overview of the programing language PROLOG and highlights its educational uses. Explains how PROLOG serves as a model of representing commonsense understandings of motion. Identifies problem areas and proposes future tasks with the program. (ML)

Provides an overview of the approach, objectives, and unit offerings of the Science and Technology in Society (SATIS) project. Lists physics-related SATIS publications and describes selected programs. Suggests how SATIS units can be used as a supplement to existing materials. (ML)

Discusses the role of history, philosophy, and social implications of scientific ideas and advances related to the physics curriculum, considering who should teach what, to whom, and when. Suggests that physics teachers should have a deep and abiding interest in the history, philosophy, and social implications of science and technology. (Author/JN)

Discusses the Internet and how it works, beginning with its origins in the U.S. military and covering such issues as clients and servers, upload and download, and the World Wide Web. (Author/PVD)

The Institute of Physics Publishing (IPP), a subsidiary body of the Institute of Physics (IOP), has used electronic publishing on the Internet as a major means of improving the speed of dissemination of physics information. The development of the Comprehensive Electronic Journals service is described along with recent enhancements and other…

Describes a new high school physics option in Great Britain which uses the model of a technological approach to the study of materials. Discusses the components of the program, including the development of a student book for independent learning and six case studies. Provides a case study about turbine blades. (TW)

Offers reasons why microelectronics and computing should be combined and offered as a specialized course, different from both physics and mathematics. Includes course content and discusses subject combinations within school science and technology departments. (Author/SK)

Described are developments in medical electronics and physiological measurement. Discussed are electrocardiology, audiology, and urology as mature applications; applied potential tomography, magnetic stimulation of nerves, and laser Doppler flowmetry as new techniques; and optical sensors, ambulatory monitoring, and biosensors as future…

Lists 31 useful physics-related Internet sites to help physicists who are just starting to use the Internet. The sites are also useful in teaching or to assist students in doing research. Sites have a range of sponsors including physics organizations, government agencies, universities, and corporations. (PVD)

Describes some research studies, contents of a videotape, students' discussion of nuclear power and other educational aspects of the topic. Ten references are listed. (YP)

Discussed is a radionuclide imaging technique, including the gamma camera, image analysis computer, radiopharmaceuticals, and positron emission tomography. Several pictures showing the use of this technique are presented. (YP)

A physics professor ponders the advantages and possibilities of the Internet in graduate education and shares his own experiences delivering graduate courses and individual lectures online. Discusses accreditation and costing between institutions, the nature and extent of copyright problems, and the most useful forms of student interaction. (PVD)

Kinetic models of a gas can be hard for students to understand. Typical tools do not display events at the microscopic level, yet computer simulations of the molecules lack a hands-on aspect. Here a new tool is described that combines the squeezing of a syringe with a computer simulation, and it is shown that this has worked well in class for both…