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News
Maxwell's demon tamed Jan 31
A manmade molecular machine that can drive a system away from equilibrium is the first to do so using an "information ratchet", claim researchers in Scotland. The machine, in which a light-powered gate controls the transport of molecules, uses a similar principle to Maxwell's demon, a famous thought experiment devised to challenge the second law of thermodynamics (Nature 445 523).
Ultrafast probe uses femtosecond electron pulses Jan 31
Physicists in Germany have created a practical source of femtosecond-duration electron pulses for electron microscopy. The pulses, each of which usually contained just one electron, emanate from the tip of an extremely sharp metal needle that is illuminated by femtosecond laser pulses. The source has already been used to image a nanometer-sized trench and could be used in time-resolved electron microscopes that follow the motion of individual atoms and molecules as they rearrange themselves during structural transitions or chemical reactions (Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 043907).
Physics World
Hot topic Feb 1
There is strong evidence for the human impact on climate change, but we should not ignore those who think otherwise
A climate of alarm Feb 1
The conventional view among scientists is that man-made global warming is real and potentially devastating. Climate physicist Richard Lindzen tells Edwin Cartlidge why he disagrees
A model approach to climate change Feb 1
The Earth is warming up, with potentially disastrous consequences. Computer climate models based on physics are our best hope of predicting and managing climate change, as Adam Scaife, Chris Folland and John Mitchell explain
Physics legends II Feb 1
Robert P Crease looks at some of your favourite legends – right and wrong – from the history of physics
Shot in the dark Feb 1
A cosmic collision between two galaxy clusters known collectively as the Bullet Cluster has provided researchers with persuasive evidence for the existence of dark matter, describe Douglas Cloweand Dennis Zaritsky
The science of origami Feb 1
The science underlying paper-folding is leading to new technological and artistic applications for the centuries-old craft of origami, as Robert J Lang describes
The magnet in the electron Feb 1
The best measurement ever of the electron’s magnetic moment allows us to re-evaluate the fine-structure constant and put quantum electrodynamics to the ultimate test, explains Gerald Gabrielse
Reviews
Stringing physics along Feb 1
The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
Lee Smolin
2006 Houghton Mifflin 416pp £25.00/$26.00hb
The muddle in the middle Feb 1
Middle World: The Restless Heart of Matter and Life
Mark Haw
2006 Palgrave Macmillan 256pp £16.99/$24.95hb
Blog lines: Cosmic Variance Feb 1
Web logs, or "blogs", are frequently updated online diaries that have become an Internet phenomenon. Many professional physicists are now writing about their life and work in this way. In the second of this new monthly column, Physics World looks at a blog written jointly by four US physicists.
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