The mission of the American Institute of Physics' (ADP) Center for History of Physics "is to preserve and make known the history of modern physics and allied fields." Visiting the History Exhibits, teachers and students can find interactive tutorials about many prominent physicists and important research such as Heisenberg's theory of uncertainty and the discovery of the electron. Users can search...

This Topic in Depth explores the history and evolution of the field of physics. The first website, created by the Institute of Physics, offers an interactive timetable of the development of physics from the ancient philosophers during the Bronze Age to the present research in quantum mechanics and relativity (1). The website illustrates the links between scientists and eras. Second, the US...

It is hard to overestimate the importance of Albert Einstein's equation, "Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared." A recent special from NOVA explores many different facets of the lasting and pervasive effects of this revolutionary statement. The website was developed to provide a host of complementary resources to the actual television program, and as such, anyone with even a trace...

Most people have heard of the Manhattan Project, but a great many have probably never heard of Project Matterhorn. Started under the leadership of Lyman Spitzer at Princeton University in 1951, this was the code name given to a controlled thermonuclear research effort. With support from Princeton and the US Atomic Energy Commission, Spitzer began to outline the basic concept for creating the...

Understanding the universe and space in all its complexity has consumed the passions of many people over the millennia. With an interest in bringing material from the world of scientific cosmology to the web-browsing public, the American Institute of Physics and the Center for History of Physics have created this website. The site is divided into two primary areas, titled “Ideas” and “Tools”. In...

The Center for the History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) brings oodles of good resources to the web. The organization hosts conferences, creates online exhibits, publishes articles and books, and conducts surveys, oral histories, and interviews. First check out History Program News where you will find announcements about new projects, such as The History of African...