bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physics without sight
Authors: Witcher C. M.
Published: January 2009

As recently as ten years ago blind students in colleges and universities of New York City were excluded from natural science courses because of the belief that they would not be able to handle the laboratory work. The writer has personally known of many similar occurrences in other places and of even more recent origin. The notion that blindness necessarily bars an individual from any discipline involving laboratory work is, for the most part, a pure fallacy, and this is certainly the case in the domain of physics. During the past few years enormous strides have been taken toward making practically all physical data directly available to the blind, and it now seems highly appropriate that these advances should be made a matter of record, readily available to all who might be concerned.
University research and government support
Authors: Berkner Lloyd V.
Published: January 2009

We have been considering the broad questions of the need for research and its effective utilization in terms of industry, the universities, and the Federal Government. Now we come to the all-important question of who is to foot the bill and why.
Sponsored research
Authors: Dodds Harold W.
Published: January 2009

When we turn to the related function of a university, the advancement of learning, we observe that the past two decades have brought certain changes in the conditions and nature of research which embody some dangers and temptations to faculties and administrations alike. I refer of course to the great development of so-called sponsored or project research of which the natural and applied sciences have been the chief, though not the sole, beneficiaries. The government has been much the biggest contributor to this type of research, a fact which in itself raises troublesome and critical problems still to be resolved.
Physics in textile science
Authors: Finch Rogers B.
Published: January 2009

Civilization is reported to have existed for some 6000 years. During this period, man has been occupied with the problems of feeding, clothing, housing, and protecting himself by making better use of the elements of nature he found so abundantly around him. Not everyone agrees that over the centuries he has done this in a manner which has achieved for him peace, happiness, independence, and security for which he has struggled. Without adding to this argument, one can at least say that during this period man has developed the physical arts to a very high degree. The most remarkable advances in the physical arts have occurred during the past 300 years, the period to which is credited the birth and growth of scientific thought. A quick glance at the last 30 years of the physical arts would lead one to the conclusion that their development has been taking place on an exponential time scale. Only the most pessimistic among us would conclude that the rate of further development must soon slow down. In any event, we would all agree that developments in basic science during the past few years have opened the way to developments in the physical arts which, but a few short years ago, would have seemed unlikely, if not impossible, to all but the most optimistic.
International Geophysical Year
Authors: Korff Serge A.
Published: January 2009

MANY YEARS AGO it was realized that it would be very worth while to have certain kinds of observations made on a world-wide basis. There are many phenomena in nature which are of a world-wide character, and which require observations at several different stations simultaneously. Illustrations which come at once to mind include observations of the aurorae, terrestrial magnetism, ionospheric reflection of radio signals, earth currents, meteorology, cosmic rays, glaciology, and upper atmosphere studies. In 1882–3 and again a half-century later, in 1932–3, the scientific societies of the world agreed on a common program. The year was designated a Polar Year, arctic research being the main beneficiary of the international program on the first two occasions.
New Signal Corps Laboratory
Authors: Zahl H. A. , Moses F. B.
Published: January 2009

Early in the Spring of 1934 at Fort Monmouth, N. J., four physicists and a handful of engineers, with a few military personnel, stood in the cold and watched the breaking of ground for a modest structure (the present Squier Laboratory) to be erected in the interest of military insurance should war ever threaten again. After the ceremony the engineers of the group returned to their World War I wooden shacks, to again tackle problems of military communications, while the physicists returned to their worries over submarine detection and the prognostication that someday aerial bombers would carry substantial explosives aloft and drop them on military targets. Months later the new building was occupied, partially completed, and never finished.
APS at Stanford
Authors: Jeffries Carson
Published: January 2009

Symposium on Nuclear Magnetism
Developments in high-energy physics
Authors: Noyes H. P.
Published: January 2009

The conference on January 25–27 at Rochester demonstrated that considerable progress has been made in our experimental understanding of the fundamental properties of nucleons and mesons and their mutual interactions during the past year, but that theoretical insight into the meaning of these results still leaves much to be desired. This was the fourth in the series of annual conferences organized by Professor R. E. Marshak and jointly sponsored by a group of Rochester industries and the National Science Foundation. These informal sessions serve as a meeting ground for representatives from most American and several European laboratories actively engaged in high-energy nuclear physics and cosmic-ray research, and have proved extremely valuable both for clarifying the amount of progress already made and the outstanding problems yet to be solved. In view of the wealth of material discussed. I have singled out only a few topics for detailed discussion in what follows.
AIP annual report 1953
Authors: Barton Henry A.
Published: January 2009

The institute's year of 1953 has been marked by a new record in the number of pages published and the number of members and subscribers served. Most of the costs involved in rendering these services reached a new high as did also the number of staff employees required for the volume of work. The Institute's building has reached the point of inadequacy and various recourses for more space are under study. Physics Today has successfully come through its first year of free circulation to all members without too much financial strain and is well launched on a second year of progress with increasing advertising support. Beyond direct services to members, the Institute has continued to concern itself with scientific manpower in its many aspects. A number of other specific projects have been undertaken or are being planned.
Fritz London 1900–1954
Authors: Nordheim L. W.
Published: January 2009

As a friend of very long standing, I should like to say a few words in memory of Fritz London, who so prematurely passed away on March 30, 1954.
Physics, history and fate
Authors: Webb Walter Prescott
Published: January 2009

As I examined the program of the February 1954 meeting of the American Physical Society I was struck by the exclusive concern of the members with what may be called immediacy. The papers seem to deal primarily with problems now in the process of solution. Nowhere did I find that the physicists are concerned with perspective, past or future, with where their subject came from or whither it is going. The practicing physicists seem little concerned with the relation of their subject to the world that lies around it. I shall attempt here to place the subject of physics in its historical context, to show that it arose under peculiar historical conditions, that it grew to its present importance under conditions singularly favorable to it, that those happy conditions are now being modified, and that physics in the future may find the going much harder than it has been during its whole history as a science.
Reactors or other nuclear machines?
Authors: Snell Arthur H.
Published: January 2009

Please consider with me, if you will, the problem presented by Professor Diddle. Professor Diddle is, of course, a fictitious person; he is chairman of the physics department of the equally fictitious East Yaphank University. East Yaphank U at present has no nuclear machines, but the physics department wants to start some experimental nuclear physics, and Professor Diddle has appeared asking for advice as to what kind of a machine they should acquire. There seems to be no preconceived determining factor in the choice; that is, there is no betatron man on the staff and nobody who particularly wants a cyclotron or reactor. The feeling in the department is neutral.
The physics of high polymers.…a survey and forecast
Authors: Busse W. F.
Published: January 2009

Many of the great physicists of the 19th Century were more familiar with today's problems of high-polymer physics than were those of the early 20th Century. Maxwell, Boltzmann, Joule, and others were interested in many problems in this field. Most of these problems were later forgotten or ignored in favor of the more exciting, fashionable, and important problems of x-rays, quantum theory, wave mechanics, and atomic structure, which have almost monopolized the attention of modern physicists.
Physics in the public high schools
Authors: Kelly W. C.
Published: January 2009

The enrollment in physics in public high schools of the United States has decreased steadily during the past six decades. In 1895, about 23% of all high school pupils were enrolled in physics. Over 95% of those graduating in that year had taken a course in physics. In 1952, about 4.3% of high school pupils were enrolled in physics and approximately 21% of the graduates of that year had studied physics. Thus, high school physics has declined in the same period that saw physics rise to new importance in our national life.
AIP annual report 1954
Authors: Barton Henry A.
Published: January 2009

In the death of Karl Taylor Compton on June 22nd, the American Institute of Physics, as well as the world at large, suffered a very great loss. Indeed, it is very doubtful whether the American Institute of Physics would ever have come into existence at all without his vision and initiative. He saw the need for reversing the then prevailing trend of physics to split into a number of unrelated societies, he gave leadership to the establishment of the AIP to bring these societies into federation without loss of autonomy, and he did much to join their strength through the Institute for the effective prosecution of common causes. He continued his active guidance of the newly launched Institute for seven years as Chairman of its Governing Board and then for several more years as a member of its Policy Committee. Until he died, he retained a lively interest in the Institute and made his time available for the consideration of its problems and opportunities.
NRC-AIP Conference on the Production of Physicists: Recommendations
Authors: Shankland Robert S. , Johnson Philip , Trytten M. H. , Grigorieff W. W.
Published: January 2009

The present shortage of physicists and the anticipated worsening of this situation in the future must be the concern of all career physicists who acknowledge a responsibility to their profession and to the well-being of the nation. This must be a compelling, personal concern even though it is obvious that the situation has so many aspects, extending throughout the entire educational and research activities of the nation, that physicists acting alone cannot solve the problem.
Critique of teaching objectives in colleges
Authors: Frank N. H.
Published: January 2009

In agreeing to address this conference on the subject “Critique of Teaching Objectives—College” I had wondered whether this particular area was perhaps a little apart from our principal consideration, namely that of the improvement of high school science as a means of augmenting the production of future physicists. Now that I have listened to Fletcher Watson's report about the extremely small amount of college physics studied by the average high school teacher who is called on to teach physics, it looms as a very important aspect of our problem. Since it is evident that the general college physics courses provide essentially the only contact of the average high school physics teachers with this subject, it is of deepest importance to inquire as to whether the quality of such college physics courses is not to a large extent reflected in the manner in which high school physics is taught. Let me make two points clear at the very outset: first, I intend to be blunt and perhaps even brutal in my criticism of general college physics courses, and secondly, I wish to make it clear that I am excluding from such criticism those of my colleagues present at this conference who are engaged in teaching such courses. Now that I have cleared the atmosphere, I will drop all semblance of tact and state categorically that in my judgment the average elementary college physics course falls far short of even modest intellectual standards and fails utterly to satisfy present day requirements in physics education. This situation is deplorable, to say the least. I am amazed, not so much that high school physics leaves so much to be desired, but that it is as good as it is, when one considers the low quality of beginning college physics courses and the extraordinary difficulty which a high school teacher faces in keeping up even partially with the rapid advances in physics. The lack of professional competence of high school teachers of physics is undoubtedly due in no small measure to the mediocre standards of the average college physics course, and these in turn stem in no small degree from the unprecedented rapid rate of growth of physics and its applications, as well as to the sharp increase in complexity and subtlety of modern physical principles.
The Future Scientists of America Foundation
Authors: Woodburn John H.
Published: January 2009

Established three years ago by the National Science Teachers Association, the Foundation has accumulated experience in trying to do what industry, professional societies, and science teachers suggest might improve science teaching. In addition, the strengths and weaknesses in the Foundation's design are becoming clarified. Consider the program first.
History and philosophy of science in an undergraduate physics course
Authors: Hanson Norwood Russell
Published: January 2009

For five years a new subject has been taught within the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge University. I have been associated with the development of this course, and I should like to tell you something of our objectives, and of the difficulties we have experienced.
NBS Technical Advisory Committee for Mathematics
Authors: Taub A. H.
Published: January 2009

The National Bureau of Standards Technical Advisory Committee for Mathematics is pleased to report that the program of the Applied Mathematics Division is progressing well and that this division continues to provide excellent mathematical, computational, and statistical services to other agencies of the government, as well as other Bureau divisions. Members of the division are carrying out significant research and training programs in addition to their service duties.
Plasma dynamics
Authors: Landshoff R.
Published: January 2009

During the week of June 8th the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council and the Air Research and Development Command sponsored an international symposium on plasma dynamics. The meetings took place on the beautiful Whitney Estate at Woods Hole on the southwest tip of Cape Cod. Attendance was limited to about fifty scientists actively engaged in research on plasma dynamics who were selected to represent all major aspects of this growing branch of physics. A number of participants came from England, Germany, and Sweden. To the regret of everyone, a simultaneous meeting of the Russian Academy kept scientists from that country away.
Presentation of the first Fritz London Award
Authors: Daunt J. G.
Published: January 2009

IT is my very pleasant duty this afternoon to make the presentation of the First Fritz London Award to Dr. Nicholas Kurti. In doing so, I shall act on behalf of the 1957 Fritz London Award Committee which has the following members: Dean F. G. Brickwedde. Professor W. M. Fairbank, Dr. E. F. Hammel, and Dr. H. O. McMahon, and myself as chairman. I am also acting on behalf of the whole organization of the Fifth International Conference on Low-Temperature Physics and Chemistry, at which biennial conferences these awards are to be, we hope, a regular feature. I also act on behalf of the sponsors of the award, the Arthur D. Little Foundation.
The role of the national laboratory in American scientific progress
Authors: Berkner L. V.
Published: January 2009

The national laboratory as an adjunct to research activity is emerging during our lifetimes as an essential element of scientific progress. Consequently, it seems worthwhile to examine the roles and the special characteristics of the national laboratory that differentiate it from the traditional laboratories of the universities and other establishments conducting undirected and fundamental scientific research. I shall not, however, refer to the outstanding engineering, applied, and generally directed research activities that are often conducted by these national laboratories, since these activities have much in common with the general industrial research carried on throughout the whole fabric of American scientific life.
The helium vapor-pressure scale of temperatures
Authors: Brickwedde F. G.
Published: January 2009

Since the Fourth International (Paris) Conference on Low-Temperature Physics in 1955, precision low-temperature research has been plagued by having two standard scales for temperature in the range 1 to 5.2 °K. These are the helium vapor-pressure scales of J. R. Clement (the 55E Scale), and of H. van Dijk and M. Durieux (the L55 Scale). The differences between these scales (Fig. 1) are within the experimental uncertainties of the measurements on which the scales are based. A reliable decision as to which of these two scales is superior to the other calls for a study and reevaluation of all the data on which the scales are based. The original or raw experimental data from which published values for the vapor pressure, and calorimetric and state properties of helium were calculated should be recalculated using the present best values for physical constants and related properties of helium. The magnitude of this reevaluation may be better appreciated when it is realized that the temperature scales used by the original investigators are in error and have to be corrected for, but that these corrections cannot be determined until the ultimate objective, the standard scale, has been determined. This is a big, though possible, undertaking. There are real difficulties, however, because some investigators have not published sufficient data for a complete reevaluation of their work. Then the personal judgment of the reevaluator becomes important. Difficulties of this kind seemed to be blocking agreement of Clement and van Dijk on a single helium vapor-pressure scale of temperatures.
Magnetohydrodynamics
Authors: Bershader D. , Landshoff R.
Published: January 2009

The week of December 16, 1957, was a busy one for physicists in the Stanford area, with no less than three major meetings taking place: a symposium on magnetohydrodynamics, a conference on nuclear sizes, and, finally, the regular west coast winter meeting of the American Physical Society. Of these, the first-mentioned was sponsored by the Lockheed Missile Systems Division and took place at its Palo Alto research laboratory adjacent to the Stanford campus. About 200 delegates, many of whom attended an initial symposium held there on the same subject in December 1956, participated in the more recent meeting. Considering the growing popularity of the field and the challenging nature of the material, an annual meeting dedicated to magnetohydrodynamics may be a worthwhile venture for several years to come.
Nuclear sizes and density distributions
Authors: Seth Kamal K.
Published: January 2009

In recent years a large number of conferences some-what vaguely devoted to nuclear structure have been held both within and without the United States. While conferences, especially those abroad, are more than welcome, quite often such conferences tend to be too diffuse in their objective and more or less repetitive in their subject matter. The International Conference on Nuclear Sizes and Density Distributions held at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., on December 17, 18, and 19 was, by definition, above this criticism. It concerned itself with a topic which had never before been the exclusive subject of any conference, and the manner in which it was organized by Dr. Hofstadter and his colleagues on the steering committee left no room for vagueness or confusion.
Science and the federal government
Authors: Smyth H. D.
Published: January 2009

The great achievement of Russian science in launching the first earth satellite has captured the imagination of men everywhere. In this country, the Russian success has had the effect of making us reappraise our national standing both in education and science. This reappraisal over the last three months has resulted in a flood of suggestions from private citizens and public groups for the remedy of our situation. Such an outpouring of American self-criticism is a healthy thing and seems to me the expression of a democracy which is fundamentally healthy.
Sputniks over Britain
Authors: Sponsler George C.
Published: January 2009

Shortly after midnight on October 5 at precisely 0015 GMT, the British Broadcasting Corporation listening station at Tatsfield, just south of London, recorded the now famous “beep-beep” of Sputnik I on its very first transit. News of this detection and the official Russian announcement of the satellite launching were flashed almost simultaneously to a startled world. Thus began two months of feverish but magnificent improvisation and observation which saw the British in the forefront of the Western scientists engaged in tracking the Russian satellites.
High density limit in reversed field pinches
Authors: Puiatti M. E. , Scarin P. , Spizzo G. , Valisa M. , Paccagnella R. , Predebon I. , Agostini M. , Alfier A. , Canton A. , Cappello S. , Carraro L. , Gazza E. , Innocente P. , Lorenzini R. , Marrelli L. , Terranova D.
Published: January 2009

The fusion triple product depends on density, which is therefore a key parameter for the future fusion reactor. In this paper the high density limit is studied in the reversed field experiment (RFX-mod) device in Padova, Italy. A rather complete experimental picture of the high density regimes is provided, showing a series of features, such as, plasma flow inversion in the edge, density accumulation, radiation condensation (poloidally symmetric and toroidal asymmetric) which resemble the MARFE phenomenon characteristic of tokamak discharges. However, in RFX-mod high density does not cause a disruption, as often observed in tokamaks, but a soft landing of the plasma current. According to a new 1D transport/radiative code applied to analyze the high density discharges, the current decay is due to an increased need for dynamo in these highly resistive, edge-cooled discharges. The relation between the radiative pattern of RFX-mod high density plasmas, the magnetic topology, and edge radial electric field is discussed.
Well posedness and blow-up solution for a new coupled Camassa–Holm equations with peakons
Authors: Fu Ying , Qu Changzheng
Published: January 2009

A new Camassa–Holm system with two-component admitting peakon solitons is proposed. The local well posedness for the system is established. A criterion and a condition on the initial data guaranteeing the development of singularities in finite time for strong solutions are obtained, and an existence result for a class of local weak solution is also given.
Diffusion at a planar interface using continuous distribution of sources
Authors: Jagannadham K.
Published: January 2009

Many investigations of films grown on planar substrates at higher temperatures are accompanied by interdiffusion of atomic species across the planar interface from the substrate into the film and from the film into the substrate. In the present work, a new analysis is presented so that the concentration profiles of the diffusing species with different diffusion coefficients are determined. The analysis is carried out using the mathematical method of continuous distribution of diffusing sources in the two phases. The two boundary conditions in the form of continuity of flux and concentration at the interface are used to solve for the two distribution functions. These results are used to solve for the concentration profiles resulting from the mass diffusion in the two-phase medium. Application of the solution to a bilayer system with a planar interface and different diffusion coefficients in the adjoining phases is provided to illustrate the use of this method to several situations.
Higher precision in nuclear spectroscopy
Authors: DuMond Jesse W. M.
Published: January 2009

For nearly six years there has been in existence at the California Institute of Technology a program of research work directed at increasing the precision of all measurements in nuclear spectroscopy and especially the precision with which nuclear energy levels may be determined. This trend toward higher precision of measurement is to be observed at present in nearly every area of nuclear physics (except possibly in the still new very high energy field) for it is generally realized that, while much primary qualitative information has been acquired, a real understanding and interpretation of the problems of nuclear structure and the internal mechanics of nuclei must wait for a sufficient fund of accurate and reliable quantitative numerical data to furnish a foundation for theory to build upon.
A Report from Les Houches
Authors: Luttinger J. M.
Published: January 2009

For the past summer, I have had the pleasure and privilege of being on the staff of the “Ecole d'Eté de Physique Théorique” at Les Houches, France. This school (see Physics Today, December 1951, p. 22) was founded two years ago as an Institute of the University of Grenoble. It is almost entirely supported by the French “Direction Générale de l'Enseignement Supérieur”, although various countries help to some extent in its financing through contributions or scholarships. It seems to me that some people may be interested in the progress of this unique experiment.
A Letter to the Editor
Authors: Korff Serge A.
Published: January 2009

A number of new facilities and improvements in the high-altitude laboratories in Europe have been instituted recently, the most significant of which we shall recapitulate, since they may be of interest to colleagues from other countries desirous of making use of them.
Keeping track of the Earth's magnetic field
Authors: Alldredge L. R.
Published: January 2009

Man has been studying the magnetic field of the earth for centuries. The existence of this field of force must be deduced by the use of scientific instruments since, unlike gravity, it is not detectable by our human senses. Measurements of the Earth's magnetic field have been made from deep down in mines up to nearly one hundred miles above the surface.
Improvements in the precision of beta-ray spectroscopy
Authors: DuMond Jesse W. M.
Published: January 2009

The direct measurement of gamma-rays only yields about half the picture in the study of nuclear energy levels. The other, and indeed to most physicists more familiar, half concerns the β-rays, including in this term both the continuous β-ray spectrum and the line spectrum by “conversion”, either internal or external. Ever since 1948, therefore, we have been much occupied with the design and construction along rather novel lines of a high precision helical focusing magnetic β-ray spectrometer planned as a companion instrument to the crystal diffraction spectrometer as regards absolute precision and accuracy. We have only very recently completed this instrument and made the first tests on it which indicate that it will meet all our expectations both as to high absolute accuracy and high luminosity and sensitivity to weak sources.
Gaseous Electronics
Authors: Brown Sanborn C.
Published: January 2009

Annual Conference at Princeton
Is the technical report an information tomb?
Authors: Gray Dwight E.
Published: January 2009

There is reason to believe that unclassified (security-wise) technical reports are issuing from the Government's defense-related research and development program at a rate of the order of 25,000 distinct titles per year. These include the outputs of the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and their respective numerous contractors. This heterogeneous mass of separates originates from hundreds of different laboratories and exhibits little uniformity of format, periodicity, arrangement, or technical stature. That its contents include an appreciable fraction of today's newest scientific information is generally recognized. Almost no reliable information has been available, however, on the extent to which the scientifically-significant portion of this material is finding its way into the professional journals or other information media available to research scientists and teachers who do not happen to be affiliated in one way or another with government-supported research.
Microwave spectroscopy
Authors: Gordy Walter
Published: January 2009

The spectroscopist in the past has been a fortunate fellow. When he could no longer find something new to measure with his old spectrometer (or if he became bored with repeated use of the same old frequencies) he could always move on to a new place in the spectrum, provided of course that he could generate and detect radiation there. Until very recently there was a vast unexplored island in the electromagnetic spectrum, the region between the infrared waves and the conventional radio waves, now known as the microwave region
Meditations on Physics Today
Authors: Pierce J. R.
Published: January 2009

Most physicists probably spend most of their professional effort working at physics in a rather narrow, technical sense. For this alone there are scarcely enough hours in the day. Should a pause occur, there are always papers to be read, those which one really should have got around to a long time ago. Indeed, keeping up with the literature could be a fulltime job in itself.
A Letter to the Editor
Authors: Robinson David Z.
Published: January 2009

Sir:

There are a large number of foreign scientists, friendly to the United States, who have difficulty entering this country. American visa policy is harmful, not only to those denied temporary admittance, but also to Americans.
Electron Emission
Authors: Sproull R. L.
Published: January 2009

APS Division of Electron Physics Meets
Physics in the atomic energy program
Authors: Johnson Thomas H.
Published: January 2009

It would be no more possible to have a symposium on applied physics without reference to the atomic energy program, than it would to talk about atomic energy without reference to physics. The atomic energy program was initiated by physicists; it is based on a recent discovery in physics; its future course will follow the developments in physics; through the program the government is giving physics its most substantial support; and the results of the program will be an outstanding achievement of physical science. Moreover the areas of physics which bear this close relationship to the program are so extensive and so new that most of what we call basic physics finds some application, and applied research often turns out to give basic conclusions.
Adding life to physics
Authors: Harrington E. L.
Published: January 2009

Physical principles have always played a basic role in the processes of living. In particular they have provided the framework of physical medicine, and also of medical practice in general. In spite of this, physics only recently has become recognized as the basic science for courses in biology and medicine, and has won its place as a cultural subject as well. The failure of physics to gain general appreciation earlier in these fields was not due to any limitations of physics. On the contrary, it was a result of a number of factors and circumstances of which the following were among the more important. The earlier outstanding and obvious successes achieved by physics in the rapidly expanding mechanical world diverted the attention of physicists from the less apparent part being played by their science in biology and in medicine. There could be no doubt as to the importance of the applications of physics in engineering or as to the place of physics in the curriculum of a school of engineering. It was obviously a useful subject for any person to study as a part of his preparation to live in what came to be called the mechanical age. It followed quite naturally that the authors of textbooks in physics should draw their illustrative material largely from the engineering fields, since it was a required subject in all types of courses in engineering. For students in such courses the illustrations were interesting and quite appropriate, but they did leave the students in other fields with the feeling that physics, if not beyond them, was certainly not for them.
Institute Doings
Authors: Barton Henry A.
Published: January 2009

The so-called “Annual Meeting” of the AIP was held February 16, complying with New York corporation law.
Office of Scientific Research of the Air Research and Development Command
Authors: Gray Dwight E.
Published: January 2009

Recognition of the importance of scientific research to the development and maintenance of adequate national defense has affected the over-all program of the Department of Defense in many ways. One of these has been the establishment of a number of agencies charged with the administration and coordination of research and development in scientific fields of particular interest to the departments in which they are located. Several of these have been described in previous articles in this series.
The role of physics in aeronautical development
Authors: Dryden Hugh L.
Published: January 2009

The present aim of aeronautical development is to attain superiority in performance and military effectiveness of our aircraft and missiles with the hope of maintaining peace by deterring aggression. For the aircraft designer the principal technical goal is the design and construction of a vehicle which will move more rapidly from one place to another over the surface of the earth, climb faster to higher altitudes, and carry larger loads to greater distances. All this must be done as economically as possible as measured by initial investment of materials and labor and by operating cost. Other technical goals relate to the ability to operate in bad weather and darkness, to the ability to communicate with ground stations and other aircraft, and to the specifically military functions of locating and destroying military targets, and of self-defense. However, the present discussion will be limited to the performance of the airplane or missile as a vehicle. Development is taken to include the associated applied research, and the examples of the application of physics to aeronautical development are taken largely from the work of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which is an independent civilian agency of the government with responsibility for basic and applied research in aeronautics, or, in the language of the legislation establishing the agency, “for the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution”.
The role of the secondary school in the teaching of science
Authors: Harrison George R.
Published: January 2009

A serious shortage of scientists and engineers exists in the United States at the present time, which appears likely to become very critical in the next few years. It is evident that only part of the shortage arises from the present emergency, in which the scientist becomes for the first time one of the most important factors in military planning; long-term shortages of scientists also exist which are likely to affect adversely the national economy and morale. From industry, from government laboratories, from universities, from the teaching profession itself, comes increasing clamor regarding the shortage of scientists in both fundamental and applied fields.
Physics at the University of Chicago
Authors: Nagle D. E.
Published: January 2009

In addition to the research carried on in the University of Chicago's physics department, a substantial amount of physics research is pursued in the University's three research institutes: the Institute for the Study of Metals, the Institute for Nuclear Studies, and the Institute of Radiobiology and Biophysics. Supported jointly by the University and by subscriptions from private industries, the institutes may essentially be regarded as a new experiment in education and science and in the relation of the two to industry. Their laboratories, representing a capital investment of over twenty million dollars, provide facilities beyond the means of any single department. The participation of staff members from many departments makes possible the fullest utilization of the new facilities. The institutes have a total academic and professional staff of about 150 persons and about 185 other employees.
Mexican Physical Society
Authors: Vallarta Manuel Sandoval
Published: January 2009

Meeting in Queretaro Reported
High Polymer Physics
Authors: Huggins Maurice L.
Published: January 2009

APS Division Meeting in Columbus
Nonlinear physics…
Authors: Schiff L. I.
Published: January 2009

One of the most widely used concepts of physics is that of linearity or superposition. From a mathematical point of view, a linear system is described by equations—algebraic, differential, or integral—that are linear in the dependent variables. From a physical point of view, a system is linear or possesses a superposition principle if various modes of behavior of the system that arise from various causes or initial conditions can be added together algebraically to produce the same behavior that would result if the causes or initial conditions were added algebraically and applied to the system. For example, water waves of small amplitude superpose linearly on the surface of a pond, so that the ripples produced by two disturbances at the same time are just the sum of those produced by the separate disturbances. In most cases, the assumption of linearity is believed to be justified either as an exact representation of the situation or as a close approximation to the truth. Thus the water waves referred to above form a linear system only so long as the amplitude is small; otherwise, the shape of the resultant wave is different from that of the component waves, as is apparent when the wave is about to “break”. There are some systems, however, that are not even approximately linear, and yet are commonly described by linear equations for want of more effective mathematical methods.
The reproduction of sound
Authors: Villchur Edgar M.
Published: January 2009

Seventy-five years ago, in the autumn of 1877, Thomas Edison cranked out a weak, distorted imitation of his own voice reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb. It was the first time in history that a record of the instantaneous excursions of a source of sound had been used to re-create the original sound at will. Edison designed the necessary apparatus with great mechanical ingenuity, but his phonograph was only the final model, perhaps already overdue, of a series of acoustical devices which had been built in physics laboratories over a period of almost a century.
Quantum electrodynamics
Authors: Dyson F. J.
Published: January 2009

Historical parallels are never exact. Each development in science is something new and different from any which preceded it. Still it may be illuminating to discuss the progress that has recently been made in quantum electrodynamics, using the historical development of classical electrodynamics as a standard of comparison. So may we see our present knowledge and our present difficulties in their proper perspective. If Faraday's appeal quoted above had been more effectively answered in his day, might not electromagnetic waves have been discovered less than thirty years later? We cannot answer such a hypothetical question. But every theoretical physicist who reads Faraday's words will be uncomfortably aware that similar appeals are still being made and are still not being answered. This article attempts to express in simple words the results of our recent thinking in quantum electrodynamics, not fully, but clearly and definitely so far as that is possible.
Full control of nematic pretilt angle using spatially homogeneous mixtures of two polyimide alignment materials
Authors: Lee Ji-Hoon , Kang Daeseung , Clarke Christopher M. , Rosenblatt Charles
Published: January 2009

Two substrates were coated with a mixture containing two polyamic acids. One of the polyamic acids has an alkyl side chain and ordinarily is used for vertical liquid crystal alignment. The other polyamic acid does not have a side chain and ordinarily is used for planar liquid crystal alignment. The substrates were baked in order to promote imidization. It was observed that over a wide concentration range of mixtures the two polymer species comprising the alignment layer do not phase separate. A cell then was constructed and filled with the liquid crystal pentylcyanobiphenyl. It was found that the nematic pretilt angle θ0 is a function of the relative polymer concentration and can be controlled over the range from near 0° to ∼70° with respect to the vertical orientation. A model is proposed in which quartic terms in the surface energy are responsible for the variation of θ0 with concentration.
Ripplon on high viscosity liquid
Authors: Minami Yasuo , Sakai Keiji
Published: January 2009

A ripplon is a thermally excited capillary wave propagating on liquid surface. Propagation of the ripplon reflects surface mechanical properties such as surface tension and viscoelasticity of the liquid. An optical beating ripplon spectroscopy technique developed by us was applied mainly to the observation of various surface phenomena on a lowly viscous liquid surface in the frequency range from 1 kHz to several 10 MHz. In this study, we carried out a light scattering observation of the highly damped ripplon on the surface of the viscous liquid. The spectral peak width of the damped ripplon was smaller for the higher viscosity and the optical beating technique could resolve such a structure. A strict description of the dynamic structure factor of the ripplon was employed to fit the experimental power spectrum of overdamped ripplon to viscosity up to 1000 cS.
Noninvasive cortical stimulation enhances motor skill acquisition over multiple days through an effect on consolidation
Authors: Reis Janine , Schambra Heidi M. , Cohen Leonardo G. , Buch Ethan R. , Fritsch Brita , Zarahn Eric , Celnik Pablo A. , Krakauer John W.
Published: January 2009

Motor skills can take weeks to months to acquire and can diminish over time in the absence of continued practice. Thus, strategies that enhance skill acquisition or retention are of great scientific and practical interest. Here we investigated the effect of noninvasive cortical stimulation on the extended time course of learning a novel and challenging motor skill task. A skill measure was chosen to reflect shifts in the task's speed–accuracy tradeoff function (SAF), which prevented us from falsely interpreting variations in position along an unchanged SAF as a change in skill. Subjects practiced over 5 consecutive days while receiving transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1). Using the skill measure, we assessed the impact of anodal (relative to sham) tDCS on both within-day (online) and between-day (offline) effects and on the rate of forgetting during a 3-month follow-up (long-term retention). There was greater total (online plus offline) skill acquisition with anodal tDCS compared to sham, which was mediated through a selective enhancement of offline effects. Anodal tDCS did not change the rate of forgetting relative to sham across the 3-month follow-up period, and consequently the skill measure remained greater with anodal tDCS at 3 months. This prolonged enhancement may hold promise for the rehabilitation of brain injury. Furthermore, these findings support the existence of a consolidation mechanism, susceptible to anodal tDCS, which contributes to offline effects but not to online effects or long-term retention.
Restrictions on biological adaptation in language evolution
Authors: Chater Nick , Reali Florencia , Christiansen Morten H.
Published: January 2009

Language acquisition and processing are governed by genetic constraints. A crucial unresolved question is how far these genetic constraints have coevolved with language, perhaps resulting in a highly specialized and species-specific language “module,” and how much language acquisition and processing redeploy preexisting cognitive machinery. In the present work, we explored the circumstances under which genes encoding language-specific properties could have coevolved with language itself. We present a theoretical model, implemented in computer simulations, of key aspects of the interaction of genes and language. Our results show that genes for language could have coevolved only with highly stable aspects of the linguistic environment; a rapidly changing linguistic environment does not provide a stable target for natural selection. Thus, a biological endowment could not coevolve with properties of language that began as learned cultural conventions, because cultural conventions change much more rapidly than genes. We argue that this rules out the possibility that arbitrary properties of language, including abstract syntactic principles governing phrase structure, case marking, and agreement, have been built into a “language module” by natural selection. The genetic basis of human language acquisition and processing did not coevolve with language, but primarily predates the emergence of language. As suggested by Darwin, the fit between language and its underlying mechanisms arose because language has evolved to fit the human brain, rather than the reverse.
Polymicrobial interactions stimulate resistance to host innate immunity through metabolite perception
Authors: Ramsey Matthew M. , Whiteley Marvin
Published: January 2009

Bacteria in the human oral cavity often grow in an attached multispecies biofilm community. Members of this community display defined interactions that have an impact on the physiology of the individual and the group. Here, we show that during coculture growth with streptococci, the oral pathogen
Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans
displays enhanced resistance to killing by host innate immunity. The mechanism of resistance involves sensing of the streptococcal metabolite hydrogen peroxide by
A. actinomycetemcomitans
, which stimulates a genetic program resulting in enhanced expression of the complement resistance protein ApiA. The oxidative stress response regulator OxyR mediates induction of
apiA
transcription, and this induction is required for coculture resistance to killing by human serum. These findings provide evidence that interaction between community members mediates prokaryotic resistance to host innate immunity and reinforce the need to understand how polymicrobial growth affects interaction with the host immune system.