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News
A sticky problem Dec 1
Physicists in the US have made a peculiar discovery about how a small object slides over a rapidly rotating lubricated disk. They have found that if the object is tilted so that it only touches the disk at its corner, then the friction is greater when the disk rotates in one direction rather than the other. However, the low-friction direction is not the one you might expect -- a counterintuitive finding that the researchers say is caused by the properties of a meniscus that forms around the object (Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 216104).
Binary star pulsates with high-energy gamma rays Dec 1
The first astronomical source of very high-energy gamma-ray pulses has been discovered by an international team of researchers. The gamma rays, which have energies greater than 100 giga electron volts (GeV), are at least 100 000 times more energetic than other known periodic signals. (Astronomy & Astrophysics in press).
Physics World
Quiz of the year Dec 1
The answers to this year's quiz are all based on events that were reported in Physics World over the last 12 months. There is a prize of £50 for the reader who gets the most questions right
James Clerk Maxwell: a force for physics Dec 1
Born 175 years ago, James Clerk Maxwell carried out the first profound unification of nature's forces. Francis Everitt examines the immense contributions of the greatest mathematical physicist since Newton
A global venture Dec 1
An educational centre in Cape Town shows what can be done to boost science in Africa
The book of nature Dec 1
Galileo's famous metaphor of the "book of nature", which he used to defend the work of scientists from religious authorities, can be dangerous today, says Robert P Crease
Colourful calculations Dec 1
The formidable computational power of lattice QCD is finally allowing researchers to make solidpredictions about the force that binds quarks inside protons and neutrons, describes Christine Davies
Active galactic nuclei Dec 1
New X-ray observations are expanding our view of the black holes that exist at the centreof many galaxies, as Andrew Fabiandescribes
Physicists who fancy a flutter Dec 1
The age-old practice of betting on science is alive and well among modern physicists. Martin Griffiths spoke to a few of the gambling fraternity
Hidden genius Dec 1
Why is James Clerk Maxwell such an obscure figure in the eyes of the public?
Reviews
Simply the best Dec 1
With hundreds of popular-science books published every year, it is hard to sort the wheat from the chaff.Martin Griffithslooks at what distinguishes a great science book from a bad one
A novel approach to Gödel and Turing Dec 1
A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines
Janna Levin
2006 Knopf 240pp $23.95hb
The physics of everything Dec 1
How Everything Works: Making Physics Out of the Ordinary
Louis Bloomfield
2006 Wiley 736pp $40.00hb
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