Physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research discovered W particles using a giant particle accelerator. Existence of the particles confirms a 15-year-old theory about the nature of the universe, proving that electromagnetic and weak forces are related and raising hopes for a comprehensive theory which includes the strong force. (JN)

Summerizes the controversy surrounding the claim by two University of Utah professors to have achieved cold fusion. Noted are the failure of university administrators to involve other campus scientists in review of the claim and premature establishment of an institute dedicated to the cold-fusion technology. (DB)

Discussed are the behaviors of particles and energies in the magnetic fields of neutron stars. Different types of possible research using neutron stars as a laboratory for the study of strong magnetic fields are proposed. (CW)

Buckminsterfullerene, which is in the shape of a soccer-ball was first discovered in 1985, has many applications as a good lubricant, or as a new superconductor. The synthesis of these inorganic fullerenes involves a great deal of interdisciplinary research between physicists, material scientists, engineers and chemists from various fields.

It is so obvious that the sky is blue in the daytime and black at night, but it took the smartest humans thousands of years of observation, thought, discussion, conjecture, and analysis to finally come up with answers that make scientific sense as to why the sky is these colors. This article discusses light and the scientific research…

The development of a laser/maser vocabulary follows the pattern established earlier in two similar projects--(1) Development of a Multi-Coordinate Vocabulary--Chemical Physics, and (2) Development of a Multi-Coordinate Index--Plasma Physics. A set of lists of terms judged to be important to a user of information was developed by a specialist in…

Discussed in this paper are the information problems in physics and the current program of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) being conducted in an attempt to develop an information retrieval system. The seriousness of the need is described by means of graphs indicating the exponential rise in the number of physics publications in the last…

Describes a tandem mirror concept for nuclear fusion. Its basic features is a solenoidal plasma plugged at both ends by "baseball magnets." Could become the basis for a future reactor. (GA)

Describes developments in the field of ultrafast laser clock technology. (SL)

Helioseismology (similar to geophysicists' study of seismic waves) makes it possible to penetrate the sun's opaque brilliance by measuring surface oscillations. Their pattern and period hold clues to temperature, structure, composition, and dynamics of the sun's interior. Scientists have used data to build models (evolved mathematically) to…

Discusses research that indicates that nerve membranes, which play a key role in the conduction of impulses, are traversed by protein channels with ion pathways opened and closed by the membrane electric field. (Author/MLH)