Search & Discovery
Balloon measurements of the cosmic microwave background strongly favor a flat cosmos
The power spectrum of the microwave background's tiny point-to-point temperature fluctuations is a superb probe of cosmic curvature.
An atom is trapped by the field of just one photon
The field of
a single photon can not only trap atoms but also signal its position.
Our knowledge of G gets worse, then better
The precision with which we know a fundamental constant usually gets better with the passing years. Just the opposite, however, was happening recently to G, Newton's gravitational constant
Meetings
ACA Celebrates its 50th Anniversary this Month
Washington Reports
Astronomers envision new observing instruments in next decade to focus on farthest reaches
Of all of today's scientists,
astronomers seem best able to agree on the instruments they need for their
far-out discoveries.
Washington ins & outs: Rosenfeld, Creedon, and Kelly advance
Barely four months after leaving the Department of Energy (DOE) last December to cofound the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions (CECS), a nonprofit consulting organization in Annandale, Virginia, Arthur H. Rosenfeld was surprised to learn on 4 April that he had been appointed by California governor Gray Davis to the California Energy Commission
Physics Community
Argo begins systematic global probing of the upper oceans
International
support for Argo is growing because of the applications anticipated from
knowing more about the links between oceanic and atmospheric behavior.
An 'A' for UK physics
At its best, research in
physics and astronomy in the UK is at the very highest level worldwide,"
an international panel recently found.
String theorist wins premier book prize
Brian
Greene, a theoretical physicist from Columbia University, has won the
prestigious $16 000 Aventis Science Book Prize. Greene's book, The
Elegant Universe, beat more than 117 nominations.
Physics lags in attracting women
The number of women in physics in the US is increasing. That's the good news. The bad news is that women nevertheless remain sorely underrepresented in physics, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Physics.
In Brief
More SALT; Astrochemistry network; Lasers for industry; Science advice
Web Watch
HyperPhysics; the Sommerfeld Project; Creating Copenhagen
Books
In the Shadow of the Bomb Bethe, Oppenheimer, and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist: , S. S. Schweber (reviewed by S. D. Drell)
Physics with Tau Leptons, A. Stahl (reviewed by M. L. Perl)
Black Hole Physics: Basic Concepts and New Developments, V. P. Frolov and I. D. Novikov (reviewed by J. A. Isenberg)
ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer, S. McCartney (reviewed by J. R. Macdonald and H. G. Cragon)
Polymers at Surfaces and Interfaces, R. A. L. Jones and R. W. Richards (reviewed by M. Muthukumar)
Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project, R. H. Howes and C. L. Herzenberg (reviewed by B. C. Zulueta)
New books
New Products
Focus on vacuum technology
We Hear That
National
Academy Adds New Members
In Brief
