Reviews the production frequency of technical reports and papers by physicists, as well as the physicists' use of library materials and information services. (LS)

None of society's current sources of electricity are risk free. Fission, oil, and coal power all have the potential for triggering major social or environmental instabilities. The risks associated with nuclear-electric energy must be weighed against those of the alternatives. Suggestions for improving reactor safety are discussed. (BT)

Problems facing the nuclear power industry include skyrocketing construction costs, technical failures, fuel scarcity, power plant safety, and the disposal of nuclear wastes. Possible solutions include: reductions in nuclear power plant construction, a complete moratorium on new plant construction, the construction of fast breeder reactors and the…

On December 2, 1942, in a racquet court underneath the West Stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, a team of scientists led by Enrico Fermi created the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. This updated and revised story of the first reactor (or "pile") is based on postwar interviews (as told to Corbin…

This article is the second, and last, part of a lecture in which the author indicates a number of ways that various aspects of perception could be incorporated into the traditional physics curricula. See the December, 1973 issue for Part I on general aspects of teaching and learning. (DT)

The second year of operation of a one-year introductory college physics course for educationally disadvantaged students is described. Evaluation of student performance, including comparison with other introductory physics students is reported. Information on course enrollment, staffing, and format is included. (Author/DT)

An electron-spin-resonance experiment which has been successfully performed in an advanced undergraduate physics laboratory is described. A discussion of that part of the theory of magnetic resonance necessary for the understanding of the experiment is also provided in this article. (DT)

An analog computer program to find and display the Fourier transform of some real, even functions is described. Oscilloscope traces are shown for Fourier transforms of a rectangular pulse, a Gaussian, a cosine wave, and a delayed narrow pulse. Instructional uses of the program are discussed briefly. (DT)

Described are two experiments using electronic circuits designed for the activities. The first experiment is Ruchardt's experiment and the second demonstrates the distribution of velocity of electrons. (RH)

Described is an activity that was developed to measure celestial coordinates. Pictures were taken of the asteroid Vesta, coordinates for reference stars determined, and then celestial coordinates of Vesta were determined with assistance of a computer. (RH)

Evaluation of a current awareness service in physics and astronomy at the University of Texas. The service provides selected items from Searchable Physics Information Notices tapes. (Author/LS)