One year on from the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami and caused a partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, this month's special issue of Physics World, on the theme of "Physics and the Earth", includes an investigation by journalist Edwin Cartlidge into the latest advances in earthquake forecasting.

In an exclusive interview with Physics World, astronaut Drew Feustel gives a vivid account of his two missions into space and recalls his determination to make his childhood ambition – space flight – come true.

Ever wondered how your martini maintains its crisp and balanced taste, or why a manhattan remains clear if stirred but turns cloudy when shaken?

In this month's edition of Physics World, Paul Blom and Ton van Mol from the Holst Centre in Eindhoven describe a way of creating thin, flexible sheets of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using a cheap, newspaper-style "roll-to-roll" printing process.

Physicists are being called upon to pull their weight when it comes to climate change.