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| Cover:
Time-lapse images of a lunar eclipse on 9 January 2001, viewed from
Tenerife,one of the Canary Islands southwest of Spain in the Atlantic
Ocean. Two of the islands,Tenerife and La Palma,host some 20 telescopes
between them and have made astronomy and astrophysics a strong suit
in Spain. Over the past 25 years,many areas of physics have been
gaining ground in Spain, but the country still has a way to go to
sit squarely in the international physics scene. For more about
physics in Spain,see the story on page
20. (Photo courtesy of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.) |
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New
Buyers' Guide
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.
A Phase
Odyssey
Phase measurement
permeates modern science. New propagation-based alternatives to interferometry
are providing increased opportunities for phase measurements using x
rays, electrons, neutrons, and other waves -- Keith A. Nugent, David
Paganin, and Tim E. Gureyev
Turbulent
Heat Flow: Structures and Scaling
Geometrical structures and scaling behavior provide insights into the
nature of convective turbulence and some risky generalizations about
"complex systems" -- Leo P. Kadanoff
A Physicist
with the Air Force in World War II
Plucked out of graduate school after Pearl Harbor, a
young physicist designed specialized slide rules for military aircraft.
Trying them out aboard B-29s in the war against Japan, he had some hair-raising
adventures -- Alex E. S. Green
Departments
Physics Update
Letters
Another
Visit with Wolfgang Pauli
Ailing
Russian Scientist Jailed
Kuhn's Paradigm
and a Scientific Border Dispute
Science, Religon,
Templeton Prize
Blewett Had
Help With GE Synchrotron
Search and
Discovery
Novel Heavy-Water Detector Unveils
the Missing Solar Neutrinos
Two thirds of the solar neutrinos confidently predicted by models of
how the Sun works come to Earth disguised in altered flavors.
Atoms Hop between Islands of Regular Motion in
a Sea of Chaos
Collections of ultracold atoms are continuing to prove
their worth as systems for studying the interface between quantum behavior
and nonlinear dynamics.
Experiments Detail How Powerful Ultrashort Laser
Pulses Propagate through Air
Thanks to self-focusing, laser pulses can be launched upward into clouds
where they can be used to measure pollutants.
Issues and
Events
Spanish Physicists Hungry for Fresh Infusion
of Jobs, Money
Tighter
ties between research and industry, money for basic science, and jobs,
jobs, and more jobs are needed to continue strengthening physics in
Spain.
Past
Science Advisers Counsel Bush Nominee
John
Marburger's selection as the presidential science adviser was widely
praised within the scientific community, but the importance the administration
places on science remains uncertain.
Satellite
Seeks Space Ride
Instead of being launched into space next April, Triana is headed
for cold storage. Intended to take a bird's-eye view of Earth, the
satellite has been plagued by partisan opposition since it was first
proposed in 1998 by Vice President Al Gore. Now it's been bumped from
NASA's shuttle queue.
New
York Academy Pulls Plug on The Sciences
The six staffers at The Sciences all got pink slips on 1 June.
McTague
Takes Reins at UC's DOE Labs
John McTague, a retired
vice president of technical affairs for Ford Motor Co, has been tapped
by the University of California to oversee the management of three
Department of Energy national laboratories: Lawrence Berkeley and
two weapons labs, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore.
News
Notes
Quantum computing journal
Math research prizes
NAE reelects Wulf
DOD funds space materials center
Web Watch
The Galileo Project
The history and science of Ice Cream
Garth's Eclectic Collection of Physics-Related Quaotations
Books
On Tycho's Island: Tycho Brahe
and His Assistants, 1570-1601,
J. R. Christianson (reviewed by M. L. West)
The Physics of Particle Detectors,
D. Green (reviewed by S. L. Stone)
The Feynman Integral and Feynman's Operational
Calculus, G. W. Johnson and M. L. Lapidus
(reviewed by M. E. Mayer)
The Charm of Strange Quarks: Mysteries and Revolutions
of Particle Physics, R. M. Barnett, H. Mühry,
and H. R. Quinn (reviewed by M. Lauko and T. J. Devlin)
Waves in Dusty Space Plasmas, F. Verheest
(reviewed by D. Winske)
Chernobyl Record: The Definitive History of the
Chernobyl Catastrophe, R. F. Mould (reviewed
by G. Gorelik)
Introduction to Experimental Nonlinear Dynamics:
A Case Study in Mechanical Vibration, L.
N. Virgin (reviewed by F. C. Moon)
New Books
New Products
Focus on Photonics
We Hear
That
AAPM
Recognizes Contributions to Medical Physics
AAAS
Awards Lifelong Mentors
Stern
to Head ASA in 2002
American
Academy Elects New Members
In
Brief
Obituaries
Leonard Mandel
Aleksandr
Evgenievich Chudakov
Milan
V. Kurepa
Heinz
Maier-Leibnitz
Robert
Warren Morse
James
Samuel Owens
Rolf
M. Steffen
John
Edmond Walsh
Job Opportunities
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