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Presents a report produced by the National Academy of Sciences in 1979 for the Congress on recent and prospective developments in physical science. This article summarizes those sections of the report of interest to physicists on structure of matter. (HM)

Even as the physical sciences have advanced and transformed, many of the community's needs and concerns have persisted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Why should physicists study history?"

The article discusses a study of startups founded by groups that include one or more doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) physicists. The study is being done by the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics and funded by the National Science Foundation. The goal is to understand the nature and dynamics of physics entrepreneurship. The results of the study described the value of physics startups to high-tech innovation and regional differences among startup clusters.

The article focuses on solid-state NMR spectroscopy biological and materials physics. It offers information about NMR spectrum which mentions that it is specific to a single magnetic isotope often with one and half spin. Furthermore, it mentions that NMR spectroscopy is a simple concept that can provide information about time dependent process.

The article offers information on the Physics Resources for the American Institute of Physics (AIP's) Member Societies in the U.S. The said resources deal with media relations, assist government affairs, education and employment statistics, and promote physics education and serve as a steward of history. The societies include The Society of Physics Students (SPS), the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives and the AIP's Media Team.

This article reports that the 2008 American Physical Society annual meeting will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The meeting runs from Monday, 10 March, through Friday, 14 March, with presentations scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 8-9 March. The scientific sessions will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

This article presents a list of science books that did not get reviewed. Among them are "Flows, Boundaries, Interactions," edited by C. Dumitrache, V. Mioc, N. A. Popescu; "Astrophysical Hydrodynamics: An Introduction," edited by S. N. Shore; and "The Road to Galaxy Formation," edited by W, C. Keel.

The author reflects on physics and its invisibility in today's world. The practice of physics today has a breadth, depth, and richness that is unparalleled in history, yet a great many people are blind to the very existence of physics. He claims that the popular perception of physics is self-limiting. The modern physics curriculum is said to be complex with subfields that are both necessary and good.

The article is adapted from a talk given at the 75th anniversary celebration of the American Institute of Physics in Washington D.C. on May 3, 2006 about the trends in physics from 1931 to 2006.

The article reports on the success of some physicists in identifying some universal properties of turbulence. It is trite to regard turbulence as the last unsolved problem in classical physics and to cite many books and authorities to justify the opinion. It is likewise a cliché to list great physicists and mathematicians, such as Werner Heisenberg, Richard Feynman, and Andrei Kolmogorov, who failed to solve the problem despite much effort. INSET: The Energy Cascade.

The article presents information on the American Physical Society's annual meeting to be held in March 2006. It has more than 90 invited sessions, some 550 contributed sessions, more than 200 focus sessions, and three poster sessions. Topics range from condensed matter physics, materials physics, high polymer physics, and fluid dynamics to chemical and biological physics, laser science, computational physics, industrial and applied physics, and atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

Presents a list of books on several branches of physics. "Physical Acoustics in the Solid State," by B. Lüthi; "Astrophysics of Life," edited by M. Livio, I. N. Reid and W. B. Sparks; "Atomic Physics," by C. J. Foot.

Presents the lyrics of several songs about physics and physicists. INSET: A LYRIC-WRITING CONTEST.

Discusses the limitations of physics. Theories that provide a phenomenological understanding of the behavior of atoms and charges; Technical challenge for physicists; Reason for the failure of physics to account for human intentions.

Provides information on how to popularize physics. Significance of popularizing physics; Reason all physicists should participate in outreach programs; Features of the Web page of the U.S. National Science Foundation; Tips to consider in preparing for an effective outreach.

Deals with a study which focused on localizing energy through nonlinearity and discreteness. Perception of localization arising from extrinsic disorder that breaks the discrete translational invariance of a perfect crystal lattice in solid-state physics; Definition of intrinsic localized modes (ILM) also known as discrete breathers; Experimental observations of ILM.

Explains that labor market dynamics for physicists in the United States. Discussion on the business of academic physics; Products of academic physics; Characteristics of physicists; Supply and demand for physicists; Job opportunities available to physicists; Importance of encouraging students to enroll in physics in college. INSET: Tapping the Resource.

Offers a look at the concept of control in quantum physics. Mechanisms of quantum control; Principles underlying quantum physics; Ways to achieve quantum control; Methods of quantum control. INSET: Shaping laser pulses.

Presents letters to the editor on issues related to physics. Responses to the article 'Arrogance--A Dangerous Weapon of Physics Trade?' by J. Murray Gibson in the February 2003 issue of 'Physics Today'; Reply from Gibson to the letters to the editor about his article on arrogance; Remarks regarding the invisibility of women in the physical sciences.

Discusses the economic and social factors that have influenced the progress in particle physics. Review of how high-energy physics in the United States were being devoted to advanced accelerator research and development; Lessons that can be learned from the evolution of costs; Facilities that have been under discussion in the world particle-physics community.

Discusses particle astrophysics, a field that emerged in the 1980s, by combining high-energy astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics. Particle physics and cosmology; Physics of particles and stars; High-energy astrophysics.

Presents a list of books that have been published dealing with science, including atomic and molecular physics and theory and mathematical methods.

Reports on the results of the 1990 Survey of Young Physics Faculty, which primarily shows that young physicists are having serious problems in obtaining research support. How survey was carried out; Young physics faculty demographics; Initial successes in obtaining research finding; Statistics on young physics faculty feelings about careers; Comments. INSET: Comments by young physics faculty..

The article presents a calendar of events pertaining to the physics community. The seminar on Nonlinear Waves in Solid-State Physics will be held between July 1 and 14, 1989 in Erice, Sicily. The seminar on Dynamic Days Düusseldorf will be held between July 3 and 28, 1989 at Düusseldorf. The 4th International Conference on Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy will be held between July 9 and 14, 1989 at Oarai, Ibaraki, Japan. The 17th International Symposium on Shock Waves and Shock Tubes will be held between July 17 and 21, 1989 at Bethlehem.

This section presents a calendar of events related to physics and physicists to be held from March 1989 to November 1990.

This section presents a list of books on astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, geophysics, materials science and physical electronics.

This section presents a calendar of events of interest to physicists.

This article discusses the birth of the solid-state physics community. In 1930 solid-state physics did not exist. Thirty years later the situation had entirely changed. The term solid-state physics not only was familiar in 1960, but could be attached to a number of institutions: university chairs, journals, research groups and even buildings devoted entirely to the subject. When historians and sociologists talk about the birth of an important discipline, they often compare it to a sprouting seed. Almost nothing is visible until a few pioneering papers appear. Then the numbers of papers in the subject grows with extraordinary speed, and something that was little studied before, whose existence was perhaps not even suspected, begins to be understood. Solid-state physics followed an altogether different path. After all, communities of people who studied the properties of metals or ceramics existed in unbroken continuity from prehistoric times into the 20th century. The scientific community reached one such critical point around the middle of the 19th century, when physics was propagated as a term, as an intellectual discipline and as a community distinct from chemistry and allied fields. INSET: International project in the history of solid state physics..

This section presents the annual report of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for 1987. The welfare of AIP, which has been physics, astronomy, and allied sciences since 1931, is tied to the welfare of scientific enterprise. For AIP 1987 was another year of substantial growth, indeed a percentage growth greater than that of physics as a whole. This was a result of a combination factors: more journal pages published for the member societies, more pages in AIP journals, more books, continued growth in the membership of the societies and increased activity in education and other physics programs, some of it made possible by growth in outside grants. Measured in published pages, AIP grew by 6 percent in 1987 to 150,000 pages; in total dollar volume of business, including money collected for the societies, it grew by 10 percent to $46 million; and in number of employees it grew by 2 percent to 530. Continuing a trend of recent years, more than half of the financial activity of AIP was for its own programs, somewhat less than half for society programs. AIP is governed by its member societies, and everything it does is intended, directly or indirectly,to serve these societies and their individual members.

This section presents a bibliography of physics books.

Presents a number of short articles announcing award recipients and news in the physics community of 1985. Recipients of Wolf Awards; National Academy of Sciences announces 60 new members; Awards given by the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Leading the 35,000-member American Physical Society in new directions, representing the physics community and continuing to make a personal contribution to the advance of knowledge, makes for an exciting but busy year. Mildred S. Dresselhaus who was the president of the American Physical Society.

Presents the annual report of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) as well as an endorsement of its role and its governance by its Member Societies. Publication production services; Distribution and marketing; Information collection and analysis.

Presents information on a number of recipients of awards in the physics field as of 1984. Bonner prize for nuclear physics; Naval Observatory awards; King Faisal award.

Presents physicists receiving prizes from the American Physical Society as of March 1984. Biological Physics Prize; Oliver Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize; Others.

Discusses how materials scientists produced compounds which controlled electronic, magnetic, structural and thermal properties by inserting layers of guest molecules into anisotropic materials such as graphite as of the March 1984 issue of "Physics Today." Methods used by the scientists; Discussion of intercalation; Role and properties of intercalation compounds.

Presents several ideas related to physics.

Presents comments on articles about physics. Article on physicist Pyotr Kapitza; Careers in data processing; Basis for the models used in physics.

Comments on several issues related to physics.

Comments on articles published in the periodical 'Physics Today.' Changes in the rules of editormanship; Status of physical science research in France in the 1930s; Report on fast ion beams.

Comments on several issues related to physics.

Discusses several issues on physics in the U.S. as of June 1978. Statement issued by James A. Krumhansl, assistant director in charge of the National Science Foundation regarding funding for a physical science and engineering research project; Assumptions on the source of east coast booming noises; Information on the employment condition of graduates of physics related courses.