Home – Physics World
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Twists, turns, thrills and spills: the physics of rollercoasters
WEBAug 14, 2021 — A unit that might make purists wince, the G-force is the difference between the acceleration, a, that you experience as a rider and the acceleration due to gravity, g, (9.8 m/s 2) divided by g and expressed per unit mass: (a–g)/g.This force comes into play thanks to the movement you undergo on the ride– you experience a “positive” G-force when the train is at the bottom of a hill, and ...
Graphene at 20: why the ‘wonder material’ is finally coming good
WEBApr 30, 2024 — The report estimates that the graphene market was worth about $100m in 2022 and is rising at a compound annual growth rate of 20–30%. The biggest potential applications, the authors reckon, lie in graphene electronics, where the market could be worth up to $1bn in the next few years. Growth rates of up to 40% are predicted – …
Physics World reveals its top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year for 2023
WEBDec 7, 2023 — Physics World is delighted to announce its top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year for 2023, which ranges from research in astronomy and medical physics to quantum science, atomic physics and more. The overall Physics World Breakthrough of the Year will be revealed on Thursday 14 December.. The 10 Breakthroughs were selected by a panel of Physics World editors, who sifted through hundreds of research ...
The double-slit experiment – Physics World
WEBSep 1, 2002 — This article is an extended version of the article “The double-slit experiment” that appeared in the September 2002 issue of Physics World (p15). It has been further extended to include three letters about the history of the double-slit experiment with single electrons that were published in the May 2003 issue of the magazine.
Magazine - Physics World
WEBAbout the Physics World digital magazine. The Physics World digital magazine offers you easy access to all the available editions of Physics World at the touch of a button. Read issues of Physics World the moment they are published. Choose to read as a PDF-based e-magazine or as individual online articles. Access on desktop, mobile or tablet.
The spin of a proton - Physics World
WEBJun 4, 2015 — At stake is the intrinsic angular momentum, or “spin”, of a proton. Spin is a quantum-mechanical property, akin to the angular momentum of a classical sphere rotating on its axis, except it comes in discrete units of integer or half-integer multiples of ħ. The proton, like the electron and neutron, has a spin of ħ /2, or “spin-1/2”.
Max Planck: the reluctant revolutionary – Physics World
WEBDec 1, 2000 — Planck initially believed that he had justified the irreversibility of radiation processes through the lack of time symmetry in Maxwell’s equations – i.e. that the laws of electrodynamics distinguish between past and present, between forward-going and backward-going time. However, in 1897 Boltzmann demolished this argument.
The Casimir effect: a force from nothing – Physics World
WEBSep 1, 2002 — The Casimir force is the most famous mechanical effect of vacuum fluctuations. Consider the gap between two plane mirrors as a cavity (figure 1). All electromagnetic fields have a characteristic “spectrum” containing many different frequencies. In a free vacuum all of the frequencies are of equal importance.
Contact electrification explained at last – Physics World
WEBJun 25, 2021 — Contact electrification can occur whenever two surfaces touch. It is common in nature and is responsible for lightning in thunderstorms, sandstorms and volcanic plumes. It is also a known industrial hazard since the electric discharges it produces can destroy electrical contacts and even cause explosions in flammable powders or liquids.