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The year 2005 is the centennial
of Albert Einstein's "miracle year,"
1905, when he published four very important
papers.
Each paper dealt with a specific
topic. One helped to establish the modern view
that all matter and material objects are composed
of individual atoms and molecules attracted
to one another by the fundamental forces of
Nature. Another paper, for which Einstein was
awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize, was an important
step in the development of quantum mechanics,
the theory which provides us with the fundamental
understanding of molecules, atoms, and
atomic nuclei. His most famous paper, entitled
"On the electrodynamics of moving bodies,"
introduced the special theory of relativity
and led to the universally known equation, E
= mc², which was derived in a fourth paper
in the same year.
Major advances in physics took
place in the next century, with profound consequences
for humanity.
That is why the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have declared 2005 to be the World Year of Physics (WYP).
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance. It oversees – and is the principal federal funding agency of – the Nation’s research programs in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences.
The scientific basis for much of the work of the Department, including its current research activities, flows from the theoretical ideas propounded by Albert Einstein 100 years ago.
Furthermore, throughout its history, DOE has sponsored important research to extend the frontiers of physics. Since 1934, the Department and its predecessor agencies have supported the work of 80 Nobel Laureates, including 55 who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. (See DOE Nobel Laureates.)
On July 7, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a measure, House Concurrent Resolution 301, sponsored by Representatives Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Rush Holt (D-NJ), the two physicists in Congress, that “encourages the American people to observe the World Year of Physics as a special occasion for giving impetus to education and research to physics as well as to the public’s understanding of physics.”
On October 10, 2004, the U.S. Senate adopted a companion measure that designates the Department of Energy as the lead federal agency for the government’s observance of the year. Senate Concurrent Resolution 121 was sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Pete Domenici (R-NM).
The DOE Office of Science, in coordination with researchers at universities nationwide and the DOE national laboratories, plans to celebrate 2005 World Year of Physics through a year-long program of activities and materials highlighting how physics enables advances in the sciences – and how physics contributes to our quality of life.
More information about this program will be provided on this special DOE Office of Science 2005 World Year of Physics web site throughout the year.
National Laboratories’ WYP Websites
All the Department of Energy’s national laboratories have made important contributions to physics, and throughout 2005, they are celebrating the World Year of Physics in a variety of ways. For example, a number of the DOE national laboratories have created special website sections for the World Year of Physics:
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
News:
Related links:
The American Physical Society's
World Year of Physics 2005: Einstein in the 21st Century
The American Institute of Physics'
Physics Success Stories
The National Academies' Board of Physics and Astronomy
EPP 2010: Elementary Particle Physics in the 21st Century
QuarkNet brings high school students and teachers to the frontier of 21st
century research that seeks to research some of the mysteries about the
structure of matter and the fundamental forces of nature.
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From the December 2002-January
2003 issue of The Industrial Physicist:
Will
innovation flourish in the future?
- Jerome I. Friedman
In modern industrial
nations, quantum mechanics contributed
to the Internet, computers, lasers,
atomic clocks, the Global Positioning
System, and superconductors. But who
is going to do the basic research
that will form the basis for the next
technology revolutions?
From
the December 2002-January 2003 issue
of The Industrial Physicist. This
article is copyright American Institute
of Physics and may be downloaded for
personal use only. Any other use requires
prior permission of the author and
the American Institute of Physics. |
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