Paper cited ("What is string theory?" by J. Polchinski)
Corrections...(Page 50) (Page 54)
String theory carries the seeds of a basic change in our ideas
about spacetime and in other fundamental notions of physics -- Edward Witten
Paper cited ("What is string theory?" by J. Polchinski)
The rich dynamics of these ubiquitous and important materials
are just beginning to be understood. Now there are suggestions that processes taking place on astrophysical scales may mirror those occurring in a pile of sand -- Heinrich M. Jaeger, Sidney R. Nagel and Robert P. Behringer
Lay language description of some work in this field
The race for nuclear arms supremacy resulted in the discharge of large amounts of radioactivity into the environment, far more by the USSR than by the US -- Don J. Bradley, Clyde W. Frank and Yevgeny Mikerin
The Golemization of relativity -- N. David Mermin
Telescope array begins interferometric imaging of stars at optical wavelengths. Optical telescope arrays are breaking into the milliarcsecond imaging business, long a monopoly of very-long-baseline radio telescope arrays.
Links to optical interferometry web pages
GaN laser diode brightens hopes for a long-lived, short-wavelength device. In the race to produce a short-wavelength semiconductor laser, diode lasers based on gallium nitride were late leaving the starting gate, but they have the potential to challenge the current leader.
Sound from sunspots generates heat as well as light. Helioseismologists are just beginning the difficult task of investigating local solar features and processes. Their intriguing if somewhat confusing results to date suggest that they may eventually illuminate the dynamics of sunspots and other important solar phenomena.
Paper cited ("Tomographic Imaging of the Sun's Interior," by Alexander G. Kosovichev)
CERN leaders troubled by mixed reactions in Washington on visit to raise funds for LHC
Academy of Sciences censures engineering academy president Liebowitz, who promises to hang tough
Academy proposes standards to make K--12 science accessible, understandable and relevant to all
Online edition of the National Academies' report
Washington ins & outs: Changes at OSTP, NASA, NSF and DOE; Hill aides become lobbyists
US scientists pursue ties with Cuban colleagues, despite tightened embargo. As Congress and the White House renew efforts to bring down the Castro regime, science may offer Americans one of the few openings into Cuba.
More students take physics, and teachers like teaching them.
Briefs:
LIGO Research Community
Breakthrough: The changing face of science in America
Neocortical Dynamics and Human EEG Rhythms, P. L. Nunez (reviewed by S. J. Williamson)
Introduction to Space Physics, edited by M. G. Kivelson and C. T. Russell (reviewed by M. E. Brown)
Fluid Dynamics for Physicists, T. E. Faber (reviewed by S. A. Berger)
Frontiers of Complexity: The Search for Order in a Chaotic World, P. Coveney and R. Highfield (reviewed by N. D. Mermin)
Space, Time and Quanta: An Introduction to Contemporary Physics, R. Mills (reviewed by K. S. Krane)
Thin-Film Deposition: Principles and Practice, D. L. Smith (reviewed by D. W. Hoffman)
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