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September 2011

Volume 64, Issue 9

cover: Tycho Brahe, sextant in hand, stands next to Johannes Kepler in this memorial located in Prague, Czech Republic. Kepler joined Tycho in Prague in 1600, was an assistant during the last two years of Tycho’s life, and eventually gained access to his celestial log books. From them, Kepler discovered Tycho’s puzzling measurements, made seven years earlier, of Mars’s position on the sky. For an account of the episode and Kepler’s solution to the problem, turn to Owen Gingerich’s article on page 50. (Photo by Matěj Bat’ha.)

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Select this Article FREE		The tide predictions for D-Day Bruce Parker


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	+ -	Show Topic Based on the physics of Newton and Laplace, the big brass tide-predicting machine designed by Lord Kelvin was crucial for the success of the Normandy invasion in World War II.

Select this Article		Dynamic similarity, the dimensionless science Diogo Bolster, Robert E. Hershberger, and Russell J. Donnelly


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	+ -	Show Topic Dimensional analysis, a framework for drawing physical parallels between systems of disparate scale, affords key insights into natural phenomena too expansive and too energetic to replicate in the lab.

Select this Article FREE		The great Martian catastrophe and how Kepler fixed it Owen Gingerich


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	+ -	Show Topic For a few weeks every 32 years, both the Ptolemaic and Copernican predictions for the position of Mars are off by close to 5 degrees—a problem first noticed by Tycho Brahe.

Letters

‘This is why I teach astronomy’

Select this Article FREE		‘This is why I teach astronomy’ Alison Earnhart

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All due respect to scientists and PhDs

Select this Article FREE		All due respect to scientists and PhDs Robert Cassola

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Investing in electron-volt physics

Select this Article FREE		Investing in electron-volt physics John F. Waymouth

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Endnotes on Israel–Iran relations

Select this Article FREE		Endnotes on Israel–Iran relations Sadredin Moosavi

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Select this Article FREE		Endnotes on Israel–Iran relations William F. Katz

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End-notes on Israel–Iran relations (unabridged)

Select this Article FREE		End-notes on Israel–Iran relations (unabridged) William F. Katz

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Search and Discovery

Select this Article		Short-range spin waves may underlie high-temperature superconductivity Johanna L. Miller


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	+ -	Show Topic For the first time, the waves have been shown to exist across the entire range of superconducting cuprates.

Select this Article FREE		Neutrinos from Earth’s interior measure the planet’s radiogenic heating Bertram M. Schwarzschild


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	+ -	Show Topic Built primarily for fundamental neutrino physics, the KamLAND detector deep inside a Japanese mineshaft proves its usefulness for geology.

Select this Article		Precision spectroscopy reveals a highly forbidden electronic transition in helium R. Mark Wilson


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	+ -	Show Topic Researchers combine optical trapping and frequency comb technology to control and measure the interaction of light with degenerate quantum gases.

Select this Article		Minimalist model captures water-cycle complexities Ashley G. Smart


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	+ -	Show Topic Equations inspired by population-dynamics theory may help explain drizzles, downpours, and disappearing clouds.

Select this Article		Entanglement gets scaled up in an optical frequency comb Johanna L. Miller


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	+ -	Show Topic Using a single nonlinear optical element, researchers have entangled dozens of the comb’s optical modes.

Physics Update

Select this Article		A sound strategy for pollination Steven K. Blau


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Select this Article		Sidebands get to the mechanical quantum ground state Jermey N. A. Matthews


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Select this Article		The chaotic orbits of asteroids and Earth Richard J. Fitzgerald


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Select this Article		An ancient buried landscape Charles Day


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Select this Article		Soda cans focus sound to subwavelength spots R. Mark Wilson


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Select this Article		Acoustic levitation Richard J. Fitzgerald


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Issues and Events

Select this Article FREE		Brazil aims for its science to have greater impact Toni Feder


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	+ -	Show Topic After a period of expansion, Brazilian science is shifting emphasis from quantity to quality, with an eye toward reaping benefits for society.

Select this Article FREE		Will industry save academic research? David Kramer


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	+ -	Show Topic Partnerships with universities could bolster the competitiveness of US corporations.

Select this Article		US narrows fusion research focus, joins German stellarator Toni Feder


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	+ -	Show Topic Tight money leads to increased emphasis on tokamak plasma physics and the shuttering of some exploratory experiments.

Select this Article		DHS changes tack on radiation detection David Kramer


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	+ -	Show Topic Homeland Security unveils new policy to use off-the-shelf systems in preventing the smuggling of nuclear materials.

Select this Article		Thailand hosts international physics competition Toni Feder


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News notes

Select this Article		Expanding Perimeter.


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Select this Article		Goudsmit collection online.


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Books

Select this Article		How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival Silvan Schweber, Reviewer

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Select this Article		Primordial Cosmology Stephon Alexander, Reviewer

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Select this Article		Emmy Noether’s Wonderful Theorem Yvette Kosmann-Schwarzbach, Reviewer

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Select this Article		The Physics and Technology of Radiation Therapy Eric Elder , Reviewer

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Select this Article FREE		New books

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New Products

Select this Article FREE		Focus on spectroscopy Andreas Mandelis

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Obituaries

Select this Article FREE		Harry Lustig Myriam P. Sarachik and Brian Schwartz

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Select this Article FREE		Simon Charles Moss Helmut Dosch and Gabrielle G. Long

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Quick Study

Select this Article		Acoustic reflections on marine populations Jules S. Jaffe and Paul L. D. Roberts


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	+ -	Show Topic Armed with a simple diffraction-based model, an acoustic oceanographer can bounce sound off marine animals to learn important information about their size and orientation.