Internet: Valuable Resource and Peddler

Hammond replies: I would like to thank John Wheeler and Steven Ryan for their suggestions about searching on the Internet. My search for europium, while a real one, was meant to be taken metaphorically. Physicists can avoid most hazards on the Internet, but when material is dispensed freely without formal review or refereeing, our students can be vulnerable targets to misinformation and, plainly, junk. I did another search, this time using Google. Moving up the periodic table, I chose silver, and the results were even worse than those for europium. I found everything for sale, from thermal products to machines that make colloidal silver for snorting (and if you doubt the health benefits of this miraculous device, you can order the descriptive pamphlet for only $3.50). In summary let me reemphasize the value of the Internet when used as an appropriate tool in research and teaching, and warn again that its value is jeopardized by its growing commercialization.