Rudiments of reality

Philip Ball

Dreamt up by the physics Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek in 2012, the notion of "time crystals" is now moving from theory to experiment – and could also lead to applications such as a new kind of atomic clock. Philip Ball explains

J. D. Y. Peel

Juratan d'Alpharg

Philip Frank

In his Reviews of Modern Physics article on Hugh Everett's theory, John Wheeler referenced the philosophical writings of Philip Frank, a philosopher of science at Harvard University. In May 1957, Everett sent Frank the Reviews of Modern Physics preprints, along with a letter in which he identified himself with Frank's broadly empiricist world view. Frank replied with some brief, but apparently approving, remarks.

Henry Margenau, R. Bruce Lindsay

Philip Ball

Despite some remaining hurdles, the mind-bending and frankly weird world of quantum computers is surprisingly close. Philip Ball finds out how these unusual machines will earn their keep.