News
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Laser "ruler" holds promise for hunting exoplanets
The hunt for Earth-like planets around distant stars could soon become a lot easier thanks to a technique developed by researchers in Germany. In a paper published today, 18 February, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society’s New Journal of Physics, the team of researchers have successfully demonstrated how a solar telescope can […]
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IOP Publishing celebrates staff fundraising and volunteering efforts
IOP Publishing (IOP) has a long history of philanthropy. From the very beginning we have gift-aided our operating profit to the Institute of Physics, a thriving learned society that today has more than 50,000 international members, to directly support physics and the global scientific community. We also make many of our journal titles available at […]
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In February's Physics World: Mining the Moon becomes a serious prospect
With an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of water ice at its poles and an abundance of rare-earth elements hidden below its surface, the Moon is rich ground for mining. In this month’s issue of Physics World, science writer Richard Corfield explains how private firms and space agencies are dreaming of tapping into these lucrative resources […]
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In December's Physics World: Physicists create new kind of pasta to explain mysterious, ring-shaped polymers
Two physicists from the University of Warwick have taken to the kitchen to explain the complexity surrounding what they say is one of the last big mysteries in polymer physics. As a way of demonstrating the complicated shapes that ring-shaped polymers can adopt, the researchers have created a brand new type of ring-shaped pasta, dubbed […]
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Sun's rotating 'magnet' pulls lightning towards UK
The Sun may be playing a part in the generation of lightning strikes on Earth by temporarily ‘bending’ the Earth’s magnetic field and allowing a shower of energetic particles to enter the upper atmosphere. This is according to researchers at the University of Reading who have found that over a five year period the UK […]
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Researchers calculate "hidden" emissions in traded meat
An international team of researchers has, for the first time, estimated the amount of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) that countries release into the atmosphere when producing meat from livestock, and assigned the emissions to the countries where the meat is ultimately consumed. They found that embodied, or “hidden”, emissions in beef, chicken and […]
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Closure of Computational Science & Discovery
IOP Publishing is sorry to announce the closure of the journal Computational Science & Discovery. After a comprehensive internal review of the ongoing viability of the journal, IOP’s editorial management team have taken the difficult decision to close the journal at the end of the 2014 volume year. This means that the journal will no […]
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In November's Physics World: The "valley of death" facing physics start-ups
In this month’s issue of Physics World, James Dacey explores the ways in which physicists are bridging the “valley of death” to take their innovations from the lab into the commercial market. Dacey argues that the gruelling challenge facing all start-up companies as they move from prototype to product is somewhat harder for physicists because […]
