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The article discusses the creation of graphical environment and animation effects for videogame Halo 3 from Bungie. Bungie used Havok Physics to drive the behavior of objects and characters in the game. Bodies fly through the air using ragdoll physics. Bungie overhauled all the character models from Halo 2, pushing their polygon counts from 3,000 to around 6,000. Bungie was able to utilize the projection-mapping method by taking higher-resolution geometry and mapping it onto a lower-resolution poly character.

The article informs that on April 20, 2004, a Boeing Delta II rocket launched from Vandenherg Air Force Base carried Gravity Probe B into orbit and so initiated the next step in a 40-year quest to verify a corollary of the General Theory of Relativity. First conceived in 1960, and initially funded in 1964 but delayed by financial, physics, and implementation challenges, this experiment embodies the ultimate in accurate measurement while canceling or eliminating error sources. As with so many engineering and science projects, Gravity Probe B is elegant in concept bur brutal in details of its execution. INSETS: Is Your Frame Dragging?;In Space, You Can't Ask for Directions;Who Can Plug This Hole?.

This article reviews the educational film "Physics in Your Life."

The article presents information related to closure of various physical-sciences departments at universities during the past couple of months. The author states that earlier this month the front page of one tabloid newspaper expressed outrage that cookery classes outrank physics. He pointed out that figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service indicate that, although it is reasonably accurate, there are grounds for optimism. Although the numbers starring engineering courses have been slowly falling since 1996, the rate of decline appears to have more than halved in 2002 and kept below that rate the year after. Also, the number of establishments hosting engineering-related courses has steadily grown from 1996 to 2003. INSET: Goodbye Oxbridge: Small institutions are the new big players.

Presents information on tricks that employ the principles of physics found in the book "Tricks & Pranks To Fool Your Friends," by Sheila Anne Barry. Process of performing the tricks.