This is a short introductory note to the texts of lectures presented at a Royal Society Discussion meeting held on 14-15 Febrary 2005 and now published in this issue of Philosophical Transactions A.

Auger electron spectroscopy is a well-established surface-sensitive technique. It has been mostly used for the identification of species on sample surfaces, especially to monitor the process of sample ...

With a dedicated monthly column, Nature Physics draws attention to metrology. And a set of Commentaries in this issue focuses on various aspects of thermometry. Physics is all about observations, ...

During the mid- to late-twentieth century, quantum physicists picked apart the unified theory of physics that Einstein’s theory of relativity offered. The physics of the large was governed by gravity, ...

Uncertainty affects the accuracy with which measurements can be made in quantum physics. To reduce this uncertainty, physicists have learned to "squeeze" certain measurements. Researchers are now ...

A new measurement of a fundamental particle called the W boson appears to defy the standard model of particle physics, our current understanding of how the basic building blocks of the universe ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about physics, science, academia, and pop culture. In the last few weeks I've been working on a slightly more formal ...

New measurements of a subatomic particle provide the strongest hint yet that the leading theory of quantum physics that explains our universe may be missing a fundamental element, scientists say. The ...

Quantum physics, celebrated for its predictive success, has also become notorious for being an inscrutable mass of paradoxes. One of the founders of the theory, Niels Bohr, stated that "those who are ...