Table of contents

In the recent correspondence on this subject in Physics Bulletin, and in particular the letter from Dr McArdle (June issue p244), a number of interesting points have been raised, (i) Dr McArdle describes a twelvemonth appointment as temporary and a five-year appointment as permanent.

I am writing to add a comment to the hurriedly prepared Submission to the Select Committee on Science and Technology Subcommittee 1, Civil R and D, published in the May 1986 issue of Physics Bulletin (p207). One of the most damaging and gravest results of UK industry's preoccupation with defence R and D is the effect the consequent neglect of market orientated innovation has on the competitiveness of our industry.

The message from the Rt Hon Peter Morrison, Minister of State for Employment, shows very little understanding of the economics of ordinary people (Physics Bulletin May 1986 p212). He demands greater share ownership, as if people who cannot afford to save and invest (60% of the economically active members of the public) can afford to gamble with their livelihood.

The May 1986 issue of Physics Bulletin (p201) contains a commissioned article describing in some detail the latest IBM work on ballistic electron transport in hot electron transistor/spectrometer structures. I am surprised that the house journal of The Institute of Physics has to go abroad for this when there are Institute members in teams at both GEC and Philips working on the same and related phenomena.

There appears to me to be a considerable lack of public concern and interest in this country with regard to the consequences of nuclear power. Physicists could play a very helpful role in informing the general public about this issue.

The letter from H S Fricker and I R Gomersall (Physics Bulletin June 1986 p243) is a very serious one: it needs an answer. They regret that content has been reduced in GCSE and fear that 'if pressure is not brought to bear soon, then A-level will go the same way' and they claim universities and industry will suffer.

In the 1938 and 1947 editions of their book, The Evolution of Physics, Einstein and Infeld made it unmistakeably clear in section 3 of the chapter 'The decline of the mechanical view' (see, for example, pages 72–4 of the 1947 edition) that the apparatus suggested in experiments 1 and 2, consisting of one metal bar supported on a glass base with each end of the bar connected by means of a wire to an electroscope, has to be changed slightly for a third experiment which is intended to demonstrate the separate existence of the two 'electric fluids, positive and negative'. To quote Einstein and Infeld's description:

Physics graduates are likely to be increasingly in demand over the next five years, according to a recent survey of university and polytechnic heads of department. The heads feel that courses should continue to provide a broad coverage of fundamental physics, but students should also become acquainted with current new technology, either as part of the degree or in some form of postgraduate training.

The first lecture of the energy conversion course was on a Thursday. It was a memorable day and 'Alternative energy' was the subject.

Three research groups have been honoured by the Rank Prize Funds for outstanding contributions to the field of optoelectronics. Prizes totalling £115000 were presented at the Royal Institution in June to groups from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment and English Electric Valve Company, from Philips Electronics and from Hughes Research Laboratories.

Since Corporate members of The Institute of Physics may now use the designation C Phys to indicate that they are Chartered Physicists, it might be worth asking what this should imply in professional terms for physics teachers. The shortage of physics teachers in schools should not, in my view, be solved by offering differential salaries.

The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) needs 'a small but significant increase' in its grant to meet its planned programme over the next five years, according to the recently published first annual Corporate plan. Publication of the plan follows new Cabinet Office and HM Treasury guidelines for the management of nondepartmental public bodies.

Further close links between universities and industry are called for by the Physics Committee of the Science and Engineering Research Council in its recently published Report for the Period 1981–85. In particular the Committee would like to see more applications for Cooperative Awards in Science and Engineering (CASE) studentships, whereby postgraduates are trained in close collaboration with a nonacademic partner on a research project leading to the award of a PhD.

This may be the latest car sticker – not yet available from Belgrave Square – if the most recent Regional Representatives' meeting is anything to go by. The meeting was the fifth in a series (see previous reports) and was held at the Institute's Headquarters at Belgrave Square on 18 June.

The British National Space Centre is now one of 42 international distributors for data from the French satellite SPOT. SPOT (Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre) has two main advantages over existing satellites.

Applications from school-teacher members are still being considered for the Small Grants scheme of The Institute of Physics. The scheme aims to support teachers who wish to undertake research or development projects in their own laboratories.

One of the narrowest transitions in atomic physics is the 1S½–2S½ transition in atomic hydrogen. For many years this transition has intrigued laser spectroscopists anxious to observe it using techniques of Doppler-free spectroscopy, with a resolution approaching the 1 Hz natural linewidth.

A means of measuring space charge in dielectric films has been developed at the US Sandia National Laboratories' Property Materials Division. A new method for mapping precisely the distribution of electrical charge in thin insulating materials uses a compression wave generated by the heat absorbed from a subnanosecond laser pulse.

ERA Technology has recently started a two-year research programme to predict the life expectancy of different types of lithium batteries. The low self-discharge losses of lithium batteries make them ideal for protecting electronic memory systems whenever mains power supplies are interrupted.

On 23 April 1986 the Computational Physics Group of the Physics Department at Edinburgh University took delivery of a revolutionary new computer built by Meiko of Bristol. The Computing Surface, as it is called, is a reconfigurable array of transputers, the 'computer on a chip' designed and built by Inmos, also of Bristol.

Twelve hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, and close to 180° longitude, is just about as far away as you can travel to escape from a disappointing British summer (or miserable winter) and still stay on planet earth. Basking in the tropical sun for most of the year, Fiji is for many the epitome of an island retreat – 'the way the world should be', according to the tourist brochures.

Very shortly delegates from around the world will gather in Harrogate for the triennial International Nuclear Physics conference. The hosting of the conference in this country is a sign of the recent renaissance of UK nuclear physics, which has resulted primarily from the new accelerator facility at the SERC's Daresbury Laboratory (figure 1).

This year's British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting is to be held in Bristol on 1–5 September. The physics section of the programme reflects current physics interests across the country; to complement this, Physics Bulletin is this month providing a glimpse of the breadth of physics and related research undertaken in the Bristol area.

Medical physics departments have played a significant part in assessing the impact of fall-out from the Chernobyl incident on public and environmental health in the UK, as well as providing reassurance for the general public. This specific role was unscripted and unrehearsed, though many departments participate in the 'NAIR' scheme (National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity).

The first information reached the National Radiological Protection Board during the afternoon of Monday 28 April 1986, from Sweden. The Swedish authorities seemed to have concluded that the release to date would cause no great problem in Sweden, although the accident had been serious.

Jearl Walker 1985 Oxford: W H Freeman viii + 70 pp price £19.95 (£11.95 paperback) ISBN 0 7167 1724 7 Hdbk, 0 7167 1725 5 Pbk

From ballet and boomerangs to billiards and big dippers – this fascinating festival of physics fun has something for everyone. Why does a spinning tippe top flop over and spin on its stem?

Richard E Bellman and Robert S Roth 1984 Singapore: World Scientific xv + 158 pp price £22.65 ISBN 9971 966 73 5

The Laplace transform is one of the most important tools of modern applied mathematics. Its application forms the basis for study of the dynamics of physical systems of control, signal theory, control theory and the like.

Henry H Bauer 1985 London: Harper and Row xiii + 354 pp price £24.25 ISBN 0 252 01104 X

Velikovsky's books caused much controversy when they were first published in the 1950s and 1960s. They attempted to provide a factual explanation for miraculous events described in the Old Testament on the basis of near-collisions of the earth with Venus, which he described, contradictorily, as 'a comet' and a body emitted from the planet Jupiter.

Anatole Abragam 1986 Clarendon Press: Oxford University Press 159 pp price £15 ISBN 0 19 851964 8

Anatole Abragam is one of the great names of nuclear magnetism and, understandably, a good third of this collection of speeches and writings is devoted to a clear account of the subject's historical development. He has much to say, with great modesty, on other topics and the remainder of this small book ranges from atomic and molecular physics, through little/big science and fundamental/applied research, to reflections oh the status of French as a scientific language.

Friedman and Carol C Donley 1985 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press xiv + 224 pp price £25 ISBN 0 521 26720 X

A literary critic teams up with a physicist to advance an unexceptional proposition: 'the thesis of Einstein as Myth and Muse is that science does have a deep influence on other aspects of culture, even those that may seem far removed, such as 'serious' literature'. The result is recapitulations of basic notions ('the mass of the ball is measured in kilograms, and a kilogram is about two pounds.

Derek Stanesby 1985 Beckenham: Croom Helm 210 pp price £19.95 ISBN 0 7099 3360 6

Derek Stanesby, now a Canon of Windsor, believes that science and theology share a number of philosophical problems as they both seek to explore the nature of reality. His book is mostly concerned with the philosophy of science, with comments on religion annexed to it.

Monthly round-up of new instruments, components and equipment released by industry vendors.

Information about appointments and awards, meetings, and member services from the Institute of Physics.

Late-breaking conference news, calls for papers and general news.