The origins of Physics Today

Abstract

This month PHYSICS TODAY celebrates its 70th anniversary. The magazine was founded soon after the end of World War II, during one of the most disruptive periods in the history of physics. Struck by the fast-paced changes, leaders of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) grew concerned that newfound pressures might rend the discipline apart. While research journals like Physical Review swelled as never before and physicists research agendas focused more narrowly on specialized topics, AIP leaders hoped that a new type of publication could restore some measure of social and intellectual cohesion.