Today’s physics news: Wednesday, 30 June

Former IOP President Baron Flowers’ obituary

Former IOP president Brian Flowers, an outstanding scientific and academic administrator, has died at the age of 85.

Guardian 

Supersonic plane design avoids sonic BOOM

Lockheed Martin has submitted designs of a futuristic plane to NASA as part of the space agency’s investigation into how air travel might look by 2035.

Daily Mail 

Electricity thieves ahoy – military device taps into power cables

US Department of Defence education video has revealed the development of a weighted hook which can be thrown over any live power cable to tap it for electricity.

Daily Mail 

CT scanning a 275 year old Hungarian Mummy

Scientists have taken the novel step of giving a 245-year-old mummified male a non-invasive computerised tomography (CT) scan. Their goal is to determine his state of preservation and any disease or injury he may have suffered while alive.

Daily Mail 

National Gallery uses physics to spot fakes

The National Gallery’s new exhibition, ‘Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries’, explains how science – x-ray, infrared radiation and Raman spectroscopy -is used to establish the originality of art pieces.

Physics World

Scientists, politicians and how the twain shall meet

Times Higher Education reports on the annual debate of the Royal Society’s Science Policy Centre, which included discussion about ensuring the best scientists are heard by politicians.

THE