Readings
from the Physics Today Archive
We are proud to present a collection of readings from our
archives that are associated with this issue. Updated throughout the
month.
The
Physics of Earthquakes
Seismologists
have never directly observed rupture in Earth's interior. Instead, they
glean information from seismic waves, geodetic measurements, and numerical
experiments.
Hiroo Kanamori and Emily E. Brodsky
Flexible
Methods for Microfluidics
Devices for handling nanoliter quantities of fluids are creating new
fabrication challenges and finding new applications in biology, chemistry,
and materials science.
George M. Whitesides and Abraham D. Stroock
The
Early Days of Pugwash
During the height of the cold war, how did prominent
Western and Soviet scientists end up in Canada discussing nuclear weapons?
Joseph Rotblat
Physics Update
Guest
Editorial
Defending freedom of speech: What have we accomplished?
Marc H. Brodsky and Thomas J. McIlrath.
Reference
Frame
Scaling Mount Planck I: A View from the Bottom
Frank Wilczek.
Letters
Reducing
CO2 Emissions: Turn Down the Heat, Crank Up Efficiency
Quantum Theory Comes in Waves and Particles
ENIAC or ABC?
In SOA, S Is for Semiconductor
Insect Flight Simulation Resembles Navier-Stokes
Black Hole Candidates Weigh In
'Available Online' Not Good News to All
Correction
Search and
Discovery
Farthest
Supernova Strengthens Case for Accelerating Cosmic Expansion
A 10-billion-year-old stellar explosion, serendipitously recorded by the
Hubble Space Telescope's infrared camera, seems to show the cosmic expansion
slowing down before it eventually sped up.
Warming
Oceans Appear Linked to Increasing Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases
An expanded data set for ocean temperatures has enabled climate modelers
to compare predicted heating of the ocean to what has been observed
over the past 40 years.
Researchers
Uncover the Neural Details of How Barn Owls Locate Sound Sources
Barn owls use the neural equivalent of an AND gate to combine time-difference
and intensity cues.
Issues and
Events
Most Federal Science Money Flat or Falling
as Bush Favors Medical and Defense R&D in Fiscal 2002
With the concept of a "balanced portfolio" for federal science funding
gone from the Bush budget, Capitol Hill supporters of the physical sciences
will spend the summer engaged in what looks to be a difficult search
for more money.
Twin
Photonics Centers Funded by High-Tech Entrepreneur
Undecided whether to donate $25 million to Duke University or Stanford
University, Michael Fitzpatrick and his wife Patty doubled the stakes
and gave that sum to each. The money is tagged for two new photonics
centers to help advance the development of optical electronics
Private
Money Launches Institute Melding Particle Physics and Cosmology at Stanford
When Jonathan Dorfan, director of SLAC, decided to create an institute
for nurturing the overlap of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology
at Stanford University, he didn't have to look far for funding: This
spring, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Pehong Chen and his wife Adele pledged
$15 million to launch the Pehong and Adele Chen Particle Astrophysics
and Cosmology Institute.
APS
Launches Boost-Phase Missile Defense Study
As President George W. Bush renewed the call on 1 May for a national
missile defense, pushing the controversial issue once again to the forefront
of the news, a panel under the auspices of the American Physical Society
was about to begin an unclassified study of the "boost-phase" option
for such a system. The goal of the APS study is to look at the fundamental
physics and engineering involved in using an interceptor missile or
airborne laser to shoot down a threatening missile as it is rocketing
into space.
SAGE
Fends Off Gallium Raid
The SAGE solar neutrino detector is nestled underground in the Caucasus
Mountains in southern Russia. The Russian-American Gallium Experiment
(SAGE) has survived yet another raid. Over the past few years, common
thieves and government officials alike have repeatedly tried to grab
some of SAGE's 60 tons of gallium--which goes for about $500 a kilogram
on the world market.
News Notes
Armenian synchrotron
Correction
Web Watch
Dictionary of Philosophy of Mind...Impacts of the Early Cold War on
the Formulation of US Science Policy...Civilian Research & Development
Foundation
Crystallographers
to Meet in California Next Month
More than 800 crystallographers are expected to attend
the 2001 meeting of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA),
which will be held Saturday, 21 July, through Thursday, 26 July, at
the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.
Books
Einstein's Unfinished Symphony:
Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time, M. Bartusiak (reviewed by
L. M. Krauss)
Condensed
Matter Physics, M. P. Marder (reviewed by S. T. Pantelides)
Introduction
to High Energy Physics, D. H. Perkins (reviewed by S. C. Eno)
Mathematical
Methods: For Students of Physics and Related Fields, S. Hassani
(reviewed by A. M. Albano)
Quantum
Chemistry: Classic Scientific Papers, H. Hettema (reviewed by R.
G. Parr)
Psychoacoustics:
Facts and Models, E. Zwicker and H. Fastl (reviewed by W. M. Hartmann)
New
Books
New Products
Focus on sensors
We Hear
That
AAS Acknowledges Achievements in
Astronomy
EGS
Honors Geophysicists
Alder,
Kawasaki Named This Year's Boltzmann Medalists
In
Brief
Obituaries
William Aaron Nierenberg
Frank
John Kerr
John
Aloysius O'Keefe
Lev
Pavlovich Rapoport
Raymond
Leroy Kelly
John
Robert Neighbours
Job Opportunities
