July 2004 NEWS Volume 13, No. 7 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews

APS Joins Science Organizations in What’s a Nice Equation Like You Urging Better Visa Regulations Doing in a Cartoon Like This?

In May, the APS joined more than systems. But by 2002, that num- graduate students to leading US 20 other science, higher education ber had jumped to 14,000. And by research institutions for the 2004- and engineering organizations in a the spring of 2003, some 1000 2005 academic year. “If action is joint statement urging the federal cases were under review at any not taken soon to improve the visa government to adopt six practical given time. An increasing number system, the misperception that the recommendations for improving the of cases are being set aside for even US does not welcome international current visa processing crisis by more detailed screening. The students, scholars and scientists removing unnecessary barriers to result is massive backlogs and will grow, and they may not make multi-national collaborations. Taken delays that prevent students from our nation their destination of together, the group represents 95% attending university and scientists choice now and in the future,” the of the US research community. It is from participating in research and statement says. “The US cannot the first time that US science and conferences. hope to maintain its present scien- academic leaders have endorsed a In addition, a survey earlier this tific and economic leadership comprehensive plan to address the year by the American Council of position if it becomes isolated from visa-processing quagmire in the Education, among other organiza- the rest of the world.” wake of heightened security con- tions, found a substantial drop in Six major problems are outlined Earlier this year an animated feature called The Triplets of Belleville was cerns following the 9/11 terrorist applications by international See VISA on page 4 playing in movie houses around the country. It got some attention from the attacks. critics, and garnered two Oscar nominations (for best animated feature film and The statement is careful to best original song). Among its many interesting attributes is something that was express strong support for the US April Meeting Prize Recipients probably noticed by only a very tiny segment of the audience: as the opening government’s efforts to establish credits run, the bottom of the screen displays Einstein’s field equations of general relativity (see illustration). new visa policies while bolstering There is no obvious reason for this. Neither Einstein nor physics plays any role in national security. “We are confident the film itself. The film is a French/Belgian/Canadian collaboration, directed by that it is possible to have a visa sys- Sylvain Chomet of France. What were they thinking? Or is this just an act of whimsy tem that is timely and transparent, with no particular raison d’être? If any of our readers has either some inside knowl- that provides for thorough reviews edge, or a good theory as to why the equations are there, we would be eager to hear of visa applicants, and that still wel- about it. We will even offer a copy of the coffee-table book “Physics in the 20th Century” comes the brightest minds in the for a particularly convincing explanation. world,” the statement reads. “It is not a question of balancing science and security... . These priorities are not APS Journals To Cost mutually exclusive; to the contrary, they complement each other, and each is vital to the other.” Less in 2005 There is ample evidence that By Ernie Tretkoff the visa processing system is sink- Photo Credit: Cronin Photography For the first time in many years, ing under the weight of stricter Front row (l to r): Arie Bodek, Suzanne Staggs, Herwig Schopper, Juan Maldacena, because electronic access makes the price for APS journal subscrip- security requirements. In 2000, Ikaros Bigi, George Bertsch, Anthony Sanda. Back row (l to r): Dmitry Teytelman, multiple print copies unnecessary, only 1000 non-immigrant visa Gabriele Veneziano, John Seeman, H. Jeff Kimble, Peter Onyisi, Andrew Steiner, tions will decrease for 2005, largely and smaller institutions have been applications were flagged for Shahram Rahatlou, Katsunobu Oide. Not shown: Marc Ross, Peter D. Zimmerman, due to a technology-driven reduc- forced to cancel subscriptions for review under the Visa Mantis pro- Wick Haxton. tion in the cost of production. financial reasons. This trend is seen gram, one of several US screening As is the case for most scientific throughout the journal publishing journals, the trend for APS jour- industry. QKD, XFELs Highlight 2004 DAMOP nals, which include Physical Review For 2005, APS will begin to A-E, Physical Review Letters, and reverse the trend of increasing The latest research results in Physics for his contributions His system uses single-photon Reviews of Modern Physics, has been prices by taking advantage of the quantum key distribution, quan- to realizing Bose-Einstein Con- polarization states, with active increasing prices over the past cost reductions made possible by tum entanglement, and next- densation. switching, and is capable of con- several decades. In addition to nor- technology. For example, said generation free electron lasers tinuous operation through day and mal inflation in the costs of McIlrath, software that automati- (FELs) were among the technical Searching for a Quantum KeyKey. night. production, the journals have been cally copyedits and formats highlights at the 35th annual meet- Quantum key distribution (QKD) steadily growing in size every manuscripts greatly reduces the ing of the APS Division of Atomic uses single-photon communica- FEL’’’ s Generation XX. Stanford Lin- year, said Tom McIlrath, APS Trea- manpower needed. Also, almost all Molecular and Optical Physics tions to generate the shared, secret ear Accelerator Center’s planned surer/Publisher. The journals are manuscripts are now submitted (DAMOP). It was held May 25-29 random number sequences that Linac Coherent Light Source is an expected to grow by 4% from 2004 on-line, saving the cost of having in Tucson, Arizona, in conjunction are used to encrypt and decrypt example of the next generation of to 2005. to reenter them. Outsourcing some with the corresponding division secret communications. The secret X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). While the size of APS journals of the production process to other of the Canadian Association of to the technique’s security is based These instruments will offer has been increasing, the number countries accounts for some of the Physicists. on the interplay between quantum users the ability to study ultrafast of subscriptions has been decreas- lowered costs, but technology is Among the special events was a physics and information theory, time-dependent phenomena with ing. Large institutions have really the major factor in control- welcoming reception Tuesday according to Richard Hughes (Los resolutions at atomic length scales. cancelled duplicate subscriptions ling costs, said McIlrath. evening at the Arizona Historical Alamos National Laboratory). But in order to take full advantage After hearing input from the Society Museum, and an after- “An adversary can neither suc- of this time resolution, users will Publications Oversight Committee, dinner lecture by Rice University’s cessfully tap the transmissions nor need single-shot measurements, in the APS Council set the journal Neal Lane, former director of both evade detection,” he said, since real time, of the temporal charac- HHighlights prices for 2005, deciding to pass the National Science Foundation eavesdropping raises the key teristics of the bunches of the cost savings on to libraries. and the Office of Science and Tech- error rate above a set threshold electrons that power such sources, The BackPage: Journal prices are set to cover costs nology Policy. value. Hughes described a recent according to speakers at a Satur- Illicit Trafficking of with some margin to allow for The conference also featured a QKD experiment performed over day morning session on new 8 Weapons-Usable Nuclear uncertainty in predicting costs and public lecture on Wednesday multi-kilometer line-of-sight paths, techniques for studying ultracold Material By Lyudmila revenue two years in advance. “It Zaitseva and Friedrich evening by JILA’s Eric Cornell, win- serving as a model for a satellite- molecules. Electro-optic sampling Steinhausler. was a clear decision that in these ner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in to-ground key distribution system. See DAMOP MEETING on page 4 See JOURNAL COSTS on page 5 2 July 2004 NEWS

This Month in Physics History Making History “I don’t think anybody’s going ✶✶✶ to get the whole story. I am pre- “It’s tough to get an animal to lie July 13, 1901: Santos-Dumont Flies Around Eiffel Tower senting some difficult subjects, like still for 40 minutes. It’s tough When we think of early avia- missed colliding with it on the extra spatial dimensions. It’s a little enough to get people to do it.” tion, invariably the Wright turn, and had to fight the wind hard to visualize.” —Craig Woody, Brookhaven, on a Brothers come to mind. But head on during the trip back. He —John Schwarz, Caltech, on giving a device he’s developing called RatCAP, there were many others who made it back to Saint Cloud only public lecture about string theory, a compact PET scanner for awake lab made significant contributions 40 seconds past the established Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2004 rats, Newsday, May 31, 2004 to the realization of early flight, time limit, and the judges some- ✶✶✶ ✶✶✶ among them a Brazilian inven- what grudgingly awarded him “I do what works. I see what “Always assume this is your last tor and aviator pioneer named the prize, which he generously causes people to fall asleep.” clear night on the telescope. Set Alberto Santos-Dumont. donated to Parisian charities. The —Carl Wieman, University of aside time for things you’d be Born in Brazil in 1873, feat demonstrated that the air- Colorado, on giving public lectures, embarrassed not to have done.” Santos-Dumont moved to Paris ship could be a practical vehicle, Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2004 —John Huchra, Harvard, on select- at 18, where his inherited and Santos-Dumont became a ✶✶✶ ing projects for the Hubble telescope, wealth enabled him to live in familiar figure, even barhopping “If the universe was finite, and New York Times, May 25, 2004 luxury and pursue his passion. in a little dirigible that he tied to had a size of about 4 billion to 5 bil- ✶✶✶ He became fascinated by the Credits - © 2001 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian lampposts. In 1902 he tried to lion light-years, then light would be “Maybe it’s my age, but I’m possibilities of flight, initially Institution (SI Neg. No. 94-578) cross the Mediterranean Sea in able to wrap around the universe, really beginning to think I know what with balloons and so-called Alberto Santos-Dumont at the helm of an airship, but crashed en route. and with a big enough telescope we it feels like to be the Hubble tele- “dirigibles”—airships one of his airships. Santos-Dumont could view the Earth just after it scope. One faces a finite future.” powered by steam then turned to design- solidified and when the first life —Robert Kirshner, Harvard, New engines, electric batter- ing and flying so-called formed. Unfortunately, our results York Times, May 25, 2004 ies, and eventually by “heavier than air” ma- ✶✶✶ rule out this tantalizing possibility.” gasoline engines. chines. On November —Neil Cornish, Montana State Uni- “The equations that govern a Santos-Dumont 12, 1906, he suc- versity, SPACE.com, May 24, 2004 violin string are pretty close to the made his first successful ceeded in flying one of ✶✶✶ equations that govern the strings dirigible flight in 1898, his inventions 772 feet ‘’I’m a theoretical physicist, and we talk about in string theory. So taking off from a botani- in 21 seconds—three there are some problems for which although the notion of strings is cal garden west of Paris years and 150 feet there aren’t any theories. You can metaphorical, it’s pretty close.” and rising to 1300 feet. short of the Wright only understand that science —Brian Greene, Columbia Univer- Unfortunately the ma- Brothers’ historic flight through simulations.’’ sity, New York Times, May 25, 2004 chine lost gas pressure at Kitty Hawk in 1903. ✶✶✶ —Raymond Orbach, DOE Office of on its descent and crash- But the Wrights Science, Business Week, June 7, 2004 “The cloudier the earth, the landed when the main worked in secrecy to ✶✶✶ Santos-Dumont’s best known plane, ‘La Demoiselle.’ brighter the earthshine, and chang- envelope lost its shape. protect their patent “I always like to say that one of ing cloud cover is an important One year later, Santos-Dumont take a shot at the prize. rights, so news of their achieve- the compelling things about doing element of changing climate. unveiled his second dirigible, On July 12, 1901, Santos- ment did not reach Paris for science is that all of us live with the Earthshine is a good sentinel, a which suffered the same fate as Dumont made three separate several years. Santos-Dumont knowledge that there is an ultimate good diagnostic tool for climate the first: losing pressure and fold- flights over the city of Paris, man- was still only the third man in truth and our mistakes will be dis- change.” ing in on itself. Undaunted, he aging to reach the Tower and the world to fly a powered air- covered.” —Steve Koonin, Caltech, San replaced the sausage shape with round it on the third attempt. But craft. Some historians believe he —Persis Drell, SLAC, San Jose Francisco Chronicle, May 28, 2004 an elliptical envelope that was he was forced to land in a nearby may have even been the first ✶✶✶ Mercury News, June 1, 2004 thickest in the middle to keep it garden because of rudder prob- man to get airborne with a from folding up on itself. lems. The next day, he tried again, heavier-than-air machine by Who’s the Fairest of Them All? A new incentive for success and succeeded in flying his hydro- means of its own propulsion. came later that year when a gen-filled airship around the Eiffel There is some debate on wealthy patron of the French Tower and back in 40 minutes— whether the Wrights used a ru- Aero Club offered a prize of ten minutes too long to earn the dimentary catapult system on an 100,000 francs for the first air- prize. On August 8th he made an- inclined plane to get their ship to complete the journey other attempt, again rounding the machine into the air. The pro- from the club’s Parc d’Aerostation Tower, but was then forced down Wright camp claims that the at Saint-Cloud to the Eiffel Tower by a hydrogen leak, crash-landing brothers didn’t invent the cata- and back in less than 30 minutes. into the Trocadero Restaurant. The pult system until 1904, one year This was a distance of 6.8 miles, airship’s envelope was ripped to after Kitty Hawk. They started requiring an average speed of 14 shreds and the framework dangled using it later on to avoid damag- mph, which no flying machine from the building’s walls just long ing their aircraft. had yet achieved. Eager to take enough for Santos-Dumont to One of Santos-Dumont’s air- up the challenge, Santos-Dumont climb down to safety. craft designs—the Demoiselle built himself a hangar at Saint But the Brazilian was nothing if (Grasshopper), invented in 1909 Cloud to conduct further experi- not persistent. He quickly con- —became the forerunner of the Photo Credit: FocusOne Pictures ments. He constructed his fourth structed a replacement airship, modern light plane. He ended his APS and the American Association of Physics Teachers jointly sponsor a special flying machine by the end of 1900 ironing out the kinks, and by days back in his native Brazil, award at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which took and made several test flights with October 19, 1901, he was ready increasingly depressed over the place in May in Portland, Oregon. One of the judges for this year’s award was it the next summer, eventually in- for his final attempt. On the way use of aircraft in warfare. He com- Jessica Clark, APS Public Outreach Coordinator, shown here at left in the front corporating what he learned into towards the Eiffel Tower the wind mitted suicide in 1932. But his row. Shaking Jessica’s hand and looking moderately happy is first place winner the design of his fifth machine. was in his favor, and he arrived a place in the First Flight Society’s Yiyi Deng. Next to her in the front row are second place finisher Yun-Hsin Chao of Taiwan and third place winner Meredith MacGregor, a high school fresh- And he decided he was ready to mere 9 minutes later. He narrowly hall of fame remains assured. man. In the second row are (l to r) Michael Pizer, Evan Frank, and Kevin Claytor, each of whom received honorable mention.

Series II, Vol. 13, No. 07 College Park, MD 20740-3844, [email protected]. Past-President Physics and Society), J. H. Eberly (Laser Science), G. July 2004 For Nonmembers—Circulation and Fulfillment Division, Myriam P. Sarachik*, City College of New York - CUNY Slade Cargill*, III (Materials), Bunny C. Clark* ©2004 The American Physical Society American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington (Nuclear), John Jaros (Particles & Fields), Stephen NEWS Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 weeks General Councillors Holmes (Physics of Beams), James Drake (Plasma), advance notice. For address changes, please send both the old Jonathan A. Bagger*, Janet Conrad, Frances Houle*, Evelyn Timothy P. Lodge, (Polymer Physics), Gian Vidali, (New Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 and new addresses, and, if possible, include a mailing label Hu, Gerald Mahan, Cherry Ann Murray*, Arthur Ramirez, York Section), Joe Hamilton (Southeast Section) from a recent issue. Requests from subscribers for missing Laura Smoliar Editor ...... Alan Chodos issues will be honored without charge only if received within ADVISORS Associate Editor ...... Jennifer Ouellette 6 months of the issue’s actual date of publication. Periodical International Councillor Representatives from Other Societies Special Publications Manager ...... Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at additional mailing Sukekatsu Ushioda Jim Nelson, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP Design and Production ...... Stephanie Jankowski offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to APS News, Forefronts Editor ...... Craig Davis Membership Department, American Physical Society, One Chair, Nominating Committee International Advisors Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. John Peoples Héctor O. Murrieta Sánchez, Mexican Physical Society, Proofreader ...... Edward Lee Bela Joos, Canadian Association of Physicists APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, clarity. All correspondence regarding APS News should be APS COUNCIL 2004 Chair, Panel on Public Affairs monthly, except the August/September issue, by the directed to: Editor, APS News, One Physics Ellipse, College President Arthur Bienenstock Staff Representatives American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, E-mail: [email protected]. Helen R. Quinn*, Stanford University (SLAC) Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten, Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It contains President-Elect Division, Forum and Section Councillors Director of International Affairs; Fredrick Stein, Director news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical Groups, Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publication Marvin L. Cohen*, University of California, Berkeley Edward “Rocky” Kolb (Astrophysics), Kate Kirby (Atomic, of Education and Outreach; Robert L. Park, Director, Sections and Forums; advance information on meetings delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing abroad Vice-President Molecular & Optical Physics), Robert Eisenberg* Public Information; Michael Lubell, Director, Public of the Society; and reports to the Society by its committees may receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. John Bahcall*, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton (Biological), Sylvia Ceyer (Chemical), Moses H. Chan Affairs; Stanley Brown, Editorial Director; Charles and task forces, as well as opinions. Nonmembers: Subscription rates are available at http:// Executive Officer (Condensed Matter Physics), Richard Martin Muller, Director, Journal Operations; Michael Stephens, librarians.aps.org/institutional.html. Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave) (Computational), Harry Swinney (Fluid Dynamics), Peter Controller and Assistant Treasurer Letters to the editor are welcomed from the Treasurer Zimmerman (Forum on Education), Gloria Lubkin (Forum membership. Letters must be signed and should include Subscription orders, renewals and address changes should Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (emeritus) on History of Physics), Patricia Mooney (Forum on Council Administrator an address and daytime telephone number. The APS be addressed as follows: For APS Members—Membership Editor-in-Chief Industrial and Applied Physics), James Vary* (Forum on Ken Cole reserves the right to select and to edit for length or Department, American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory (emeritus) International Physics), Philip “Bo” Hammer (Forum on * Members of the APS Executive Board NEWS July 2004 3

AIP Plans Outreach Programs for World Year of Physics

Physics societies, laboratories various aspects of Einstein’s and other organizations around thinking in 1905. The Physics of High Heels the world are gearing up for the The various chapters of the upcoming World Year of Physics Society of Physics Students By Stephen Strauss, Globe and Mail in 2005, with numerous planned around the country will be spon- England, the country that nur- you can go without tipping over. In How High th activities to celebrate the 100 soring physics department and tured the genius of Isaac Newton, this case, h is the height of heel, s is anniversary of Albert Einstein’s public events to celebrate 2005, has now applied the brains of its the length of the shoe (as measured Can You Go? “miracle year” and the three as part of a “physics department physicists to a modern conundrum: by the UK shoe size) and Q is a vari- papers that revolutionized the challenge.” What is the height of the heels that ety of sociological factors. The The maximum heel height field of physics. Awards for the best propos- Sex in the City’s Carrie Bradshaw numbers express how changes in formula is based on shoe size The American Institute of als will be handed out and could wear without falling over or foot slope increase tippiness. and an elusive Q factor, which Physics (AIP) is no exception, featured at the upcoming SPS cramping up in pain? In essence, the formula says that takes into account sociological organizing a wide range of edu- Congress this October in The answer, as calculated by the sharper the angle of the foot in factors such as how shoe styl- cation and outreach activities to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Professor Paul Stevenson of the the shoe—what Pythagoras ishness increases a woman’s capitalize on the event. Among The Marsh White Awards for University of Surrey, is as compli- described as the hypotenuse of a tri- ability to tolerate pain. other activities, Physics Today— Physics Outreach will also be cated as contemporary dating. If angle in his mathematical studies in AIP’s flagship publication—is geared towards the best physics Bradshaw, the show’s fashion mad the sixth century BC—the more h=Q x (12 + 3s/8) planning monthly features outreach projects in 2005. lead character, is wearing shoes she unsteady you become. “You have a h is the maximum height of throughout the year in honor of Meanwhile SPS will be put- really likes, cost a lot, and are the small area that is supporting all your the heel (in cm). the World Year of Physics. ting together outreach catalyst latest thing, she can sashay about weight, and it is hard to keep your Q is a sociological factor and And AIP’s Center for the kits around the theme of easily in a pair of her beloved balance on a small area,” is the sim- has a value between and 1. History of Physics is revising and “Einstein in the 21st century.” Manolo Blahnik stilettos that top plified explanation of the formula, s is shoe size (UK ladies enhancing their immensely popu- These will be disseminated to out at over five inches or almost according to Stevenson. This trans- sizes). lar 1996 on-line exhibit on Albert about 25 SPS chapters in the US 13 centimeters tall. If she has spent lates into a situation where five inches Q is defined as: Einstein [http://www.aip.org/his- this fall. the night toasting the end of the is about the height at which an expe- Q=[p • (y+9)• L]/[(t+1) •(A+1)• tory/einstein]. For more information about television series, then she had bet- rienced high heel wearer could (y+10) • (L+£20)](L+£20)]. New features will include a AIP’s planned activities for the ter think about not wearing shoes remain stable. p is the probability that wear- new site design, a new bibliogra- World Year of Physics, see http:/ with heels higher than about an The British physicist acknowl- ing the shoes will turn heads. phy, and reprints of five seminal /www.physics2005.org/events/ inch because the alcohol will edges that a scientific publication y is the number of years essays by noted historians on index.html upset her equilibrium. would want an equation that more experience you have wearing Stevenson made the calculation quantitatively expressed the pain high heels. after Dianne Stilwell, a publicist that increasingly higher heels cause L is the cost of the shoes, in with the London-based Institute of the wearer. As well, the equation is British pounds. Washington Dispatch Physics, sat mesmerized before the entirely based on a stiletto model t is the time since the shoe was the height of fashion, in A bi-monthly update from the APS Office of Public Affairs next to last episode of the series, for the heel. A broader heel would which ended in Britain last week keep the wearer steadier. months. and concludes on Friday here. “I What the quantification does not A is unit of alcohol con- Log on to the APS Web Site: sat there thinking: How can she address is how much pressure a sumed. (http://www.aps.org/public_affairs) for more information. wear heels that height? There must woman stumbling about in high heels SOURCE: INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS be some kind of formula that says would exert if she stepped on you. Editor’s NoteNote: This article first you can only go so high before you For that the British physics institute appeared on March 24, 2004, in ISSUE: RESEARCH FUNDING fall over,” Stilwell said. directs people to its web site where “...the Globe and Mail, Canada’s Congress haggles over budget, science funding hangs in the She then went over to the physi- it records that a 100 pound woman national newspaper.” Reprinted balance. At press time, the Senate and House have so far failed to cists at Surrey with her curious in stilettos will exert pressure under with permission. Kudos to AIP’s reach agreement on a budget resolution, which sets the overall frame- question. Stevenson took up the her foot that is 20 times that of a Inside Science News Service for work for annual spending bills. In an atmosphere where science challenge and came up with 6,000 pound elephant. finding it and posting the link on funding is already squeezed by war expenses and a growing deficit, h=Q x (12+3s/8)—a formula that Reprinted with permission from their website. the disagreement threatens to delay the budget process until after expresses the maximum heel height The Globe and Mail. Election Day, throwing even more doubt on science agency budgets.

Senators express support for Office of Science. Although Presi- Next-Generation Accelerator Could dent Bush’s February budget proposed a 2% cut for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, 55 senators have signed a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee recommending a 10% increase Hold Key to Dark Matter, Energy for the agency. It is unlikely that such an increase will become a At the dawn of the 21st century, pressing questions. He believes that ered dimensions of space that may reality this year, but the letter is a strong statement of support. physicists have attained a thorough particle accelerators complement give rise to much of the Instrumental in building such broad support for the letter were more knowledge of the particles and telescopes, the primary means of apparent complexity of particle than 4,000 e-mails urging support for the Office of Science sent to forces that characterize ordinary investigation in cosmology and physics. Discovering those extra the Senate by scientists using the APS “Write Congress” Web page. matter. Meanwhile, astrophysical astrophysics. The latter essentially dimensions would change our and cosmological observations use the universe itself as a labora- understanding of the birth and ✶✶✶✶✶ have revealed that our picture of tory and let Nature set up the evolution of the universe. And ISSUE: DEFENSE the universe is incomplete: 95% of experiments, since the enormous string theory could even reshape The APS Panel on Public Affairs Report on the Modern Pit the cosmos is made not of ordi- dynamical range of cosmological our concept of gravity. There is Facility is now available. The Senate Defense Authorization Bill nary matter, but of dark matter and conditions can’t be created on Earth. also the question of dark energy, decreased pit facility funding by 50%, pending reports on stockpile dark energy. But accelerators provide controlled, most notably figuring out “why size and production options. That is consistent with the recommen- In order to answer these funda- repeatable conditions. nothing weighs so little,” said dations in the POPA Report. (To read the full report, please go to the mental questions, astrophysical Turner outlined some of the Turner. APS Office of Public Affairs website.) observations of the relics of the Big knowledge gained from experi- According to Gerald Dugan of ✶✶✶✶✶ Bang must be compared with data ments conducted at accelerator Cornell University, the particle ISSUE: EDUCATION FUNDING from physics experiments, and for facilities. Most notably, in the 1970s, physics community has reached a President Bush’s proposal to move the peer-reviewed Math and that, we need to plan a new linear quarks were found to be the basic consensus that the next linear Science Partnerships program at the National Science Foundation collider to operate concurrently with building blocks of Nature. However, collider should be an electron- to the Department of Education has met with opposition on Capitol the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) “There are still many questions that positron linear collider, with an Hill, which has been fueled in part by over 1,100 APS March Meeting currently under construction at remain to be answered, and those initial center of mass energy of 500 attendees who stopped by the “Contact Congress” kiosk to send e- CERN, according to speakers at a answers will all require particle GeV. This can be later upgraded to mails opposing the transfer. APS continues to work to block this special session on the next genera- accelerators,” he said. 1000 GeV, and ideally operated transfer. tion of particle accelerators at the Those questions include deter- concurrently with the LHC. The ✶✶✶✶✶ APS April meeting in Denver, Colo- mining the exact nature of dark International Linear Collider Steer- ISSUE: VISAS rado. matter, hopefully by directly pro- ing Committee (ILCSC) was Rep. Michael Capuano (D-8th MA) has submitted legislation “Cosmology and particle physics ducing that particular brand of established to make a recommen- to address one component of the visa problem. Citing reports are joined at the hip,” said Michael particle—an achievement that dation on whether the rf from NSF and the Council on Graduate Schools indicating sharp Turner (University of Chicago), many scientists rank on a par with accelerating system should make declines in graduate applications from abroad, H.R. 4273, The FERMI currently on leave as assistant direc- Copernicus’ recognition in the 16th use of superconductivity or should Act (Furthering Education and Research through Mantis Improve- tor for mathematical and physical century that Earth was not the cen- operate at room temperature. ments), would extend visa validity periods to three years and allow sciences at NSF. He emphasized that ter of the solar system. String Each of these has its own benefits for multiple entries. the two fields share many of the same theory predicts seven undiscov- See DARK MATTER on page 5 4 July 2004 NEWS LETTERS

Shakespeare Would Have Blushed First Working Laser Due to Maiman Reading the haikus in the cur- question was a finalist in the limerick rent APS News has reminded me of contest that APS News ran in 1996/7. A. Laubereau’s letter in the July 7, 1960 press conference in ably the first to do so, although an amusing aspect of one of the It was published in the March 1997 May issue about the first “work- New York. By that time, Journal of they never published. (They were limericks published in 1997. It issue. For those whose recollection is ing laser” reflects the limitations Applied Physics had accepted his full working under a classified mili- dealt with the approach of a par- not as good as Larry Slifkin’s , it is of relying entirely on formally paper, but had a publication lag of tary contract.) According to ticle-antiparticle pair, upon which reproduced below. published scientific papers. six months. Maiman’s autobiography, he told they both die in a blaze of glory. Readers can find it, and most of the These problems are particularly In July Maiman obtained a bet- Collins of his better laser before Perhaps not all of the readers of other limericks submitted to the con- evident in studying the origin of ter quality ruby crystal, which he Collins submitted his paper. APS News realize that in earlier test, on the web at http://www.aps.org/ the laser. I have explored the used to obtain a beam of much bet- Maiman chose not to try to forms of the English language (e.g., apsnews/limericks.cfm. problem in some detail in a book ter quality and threshold behavior report his relatively incremental that used by Shakespeare), the verb forthcoming from Oxford Uni- on July 20. Those results are incor- advance of threshold behavior “die” was also a euphemism for And Then There Were Photons versity Press (Beam: The Race to porated in the long Physical Review in a separate paper; he had clear experiencing sexual climax. By William Rolnick Make the Laser), but feel obliged paper cited by Laubereau. Maiman reason to doubt it would be pub- So—the limerick was richer An electron, while trav’ling in space, to clarify the matter now. does reference the Collins et al. lished. (It is worth mention that than might have appeared. Met a positron there “face-to-face.” Maiman’s first laser used an paper cited by Laubereau, Collins et al. took care to avoid Larry Slifkin The electron then sighed, imperfect ruby crystal which was although that paper was written the word “maser” in their paper.) Chapel Hill, NC At the sight of his bride the best he had available at the and published after Maiman began My research, including my Editor’s Note: The verse in And they “died” in a loving embrace. time. That was the basis of a studying the better quality ruby. own interviews and careful study manuscript he wrote and submit- That inclusion may have been of published papers, oral histo- Arts/Science Collaboration Does the Job ted to Physical Review Letters in requested by the referees, since ries, recollections and other I was intrigued last night in read- lyze the origin of a work of art. It is June 1960, which the then-edi- the Collins paper had already been documents, has convinced me ing the article on the Back Page, like a detective story, and they are tor Samuel Goudsmit summarily published by the time Maiman that Maiman deserves credit for APS News, 8 May, by Olson et al., undoubtedly correct in surmising rejected, either because he did submitted his. the first working laser. The fact “The Blood-Red Sky of the that the event was caused by the not consider an “optical maser” Looking at the published papers that it is not clear from the pub- SCREAM.” Krakatoa explosion, but they had distinct from a microwave alone does not give important lished record is an unfortunate The painting by Munch is indeed to do a lot of work to get there. maser or because he considered points of context. The Collins et al. consequence of the mistakes, interesting and different. But it is Congratulations! it serial publication with paper was the result of work misunderstandings, and mis- nice when some physicists and an Jim Peterson Maiman’s earlier report of ruby stimulated by Maiman’s press con- statements that are inevitable English prof get together and ana- Palo Alto, CA fluorescence. Goudsmit refused ference, although it cites the Nature when we first venture into a new to reconsider, so Maiman sub- paper. In fact, others also dupli- realm in physics. mitted a brief report to Nature, cated Maiman’s laser, with Ron Jeff Hecht DAMOP MEETING from page 1 and announced his results at a Martin’s group at TRG Inc. prob- Auburndale, MA can be used to accomplish such cavity-QED technique or a pre- characterization of electron pared nonclassical light source. bunches at SLAC, which are then The Michigan team’s technique Slakey’s Low-Key Approach Pays Off used to produce ultrafast x-rays at provides an entanglement source the Sub-Picoscond Pulse Source that could be used for a variety for APS Lobbying Efforts experiment. of quantum communication pro-

tocols, as well as for seeding APS Associate Director of Pub- to reduce CO2 emissions, but most Entangled PhotonsPhotons. Entangle- large-scale entangled states of lic Affairs Francis Slakey swore off have now accepted the new focus ment consists of the correlations trapped ion qubits for scalable Hill receptions and power lunches on resilience. between quantum systems that quantum computing. years ago in favor of more laid- Slakey used several examples to cannot be described by a local John Chiaverini of NIST in back meetings over coffee with promote the issue. In Watts’ case hidden variable model, and is Boulder, Colorado, is confining congressional staffers. And he he focused on the recent and now widely recognized as a atomic ions in radio frequency found he was much more effective severe droughts affecting the resource for information traps, cooled and addressed with in representing the interests of APS wheat crop in Oklahoma. Another processing tasks in communica- laser pulses. He reported that this members on Capitol Hill when he example was a town in West tion and computation. constitutes a scalable system for detached himself from the public Virginia that began suffering rou- Scientists at the University of bringing about and exploring face of lobbying. Now, in his new tinely from floods because of Michigan reported observation quantum entanglement and infor- position directing the day-to-day shifting weather patterns. Their of quantum entanglement be- mation processing. activities of the APS Office of Pub- solution was to blast the top off a tween a single atom and a single He is currently experimenting lic Affairs (OPA) in Washington, nearby mountain and pick up the photon. with superdense coding, quantum DC, his trademark low-profile entire town and move it across the The experiment constituted teleportation, and entangled state approach continues to pay off. Francis Slakey river. “That’s about the most the first direct observation of en- spectroscopy. The OPA devotes the equivalent uncreative solution they could have tanglement between stationary At the same Friday afternoon of 2.5 full-time employees to work- more severe droughts. devised,” says Slakey. “We needed and so-called “flying” qubits, and session, Eugene Polzik of the Niels ing on budget issues, aimed at Nearly four years ago, Slakey a federal program that offered the team accomplished this with- Bohr Institute at Copenhagen increasing federal funding for phys- found himself facing a new admin- more creative problem solving.” out using the standard University in Denmark described ics. Slakey focuses on what he istration that was strongly opposed It took a year to begin seeing how he and his colleagues have terms “politically volatile” issues: to placing any further limits on results. First, Rep. Watts wrote an recently demonstrated entangle- climate change, nuclear weapons, CO emissions. Rather than beat OpEd and gave a speech calling for VISA from page 1 2 ment of two atomic ensembles at a and creationism, to name a few of his head against the wall, or give more federal emphasis on climate in the statement—including delays distance of 0.5 meters. He believes the most recent. He has assisted in up on the issue altogether, Slakey change resilience. Then, Watts arising from repetitive security it is possible to extend this distance drafting federal legislation, written took a different tack, choosing to introduced the Weather Safety Act checks, an inefficient visa renewal to tens or even hundreds of meters. OpEds for Members of Congress, focus instead on improving resil- calling for a multimillion dollar pro- process, and repetitive processing and helped write several APS stud- ience to the climate changes that gram on resilience research. of visa applications—along with Exposing Molecular DynamicsDynamics. ies, including the recently released were already occurring. It’s that willingness to foster specific recommendations to The University of Maryland’s Ill Hill APS Hydrogen Report (See APS The first step was fostering re- ties with both Democrats and address those issues. has found that Coulomb NEWS, May 2004) and APS Mod- lations with pivotal Republicans in Republicans that makes Slakey so For example, the proposed Stu- explosion imaging provides a ern Pit Facility Report. Congress who might be receptive effective on the Hill. “He works dent and Exchange Visitor unique window into molecular “Slakey is creative, strategic and to a program aimed at resilience. very well across the aisle to bring Information System (SEVIS) could structure and dynamics because it targeted in his approach to the Hill, Slakey contacted and was ulti- people together and find common pose a potential new impediment can capture all fragment ions after which makes him particularly mately successful in working with ground on a given issue,” says a to international students, scholars they’ve been dissociated from a effective,” says one senior Con- Rep. JC Watts (R-OK), who at the senior Senate aide who has worked and scientists entering the US if its highly-stripped molecular ion. gressional staffer for a House time was Chairman of the House with Slakey in the past. “There’s a fee collection mechanism is not The technique was originally representative who has worked Republican Conference, a top saying on the Hill: ‘Don’t let the per- efficient. used in experiments with fast ion with him on key issues. position in the House of Represen- fect get in the way of the good.’ He The recommendation is that the beams traversing thin foils. Being effective on the more tatives. recognizes it’s more important to US arrange for several options for At a Thursday morning session, controversial issues frequently Slakey also sought out unusual get things done, and he’s able to quick, safe and secure payment of Hill discussed some of the latest calls for unusual strategies. Take alliances: in this instance, the gain people’s trust over time.” fees, including allowing an indi- “tricks of the trade” using ultrafast climate change, a problem with two insurance companies, who have a Slakey also looks for new ways vidual to pay fees after arriving in lasers to increase the flexibility of basic components: reducing CO2 vested interest in averting weather- to communicate science and sci- the US. preparing the initial state of the sys- emissions, and increasing domes- related disasters. He was initially ence policy to a broader audience, For the text of the complete tem and provide a way of tic resilience to climate criticized by left-wing environmen- such as local newspapers and even statement, see http://www.aps.org/ inducing new dynamics before the change—such as developing new tal groups for this strategy, which new forms of media. For example, statements/03_1.cfm. explosion. crop strains that can withstand some thought undermined efforts See SLAKEY on page 5 NEWS July 2004 5

Small Inequalities Can Influence Women’s Careers JOURNAL COSTS from page 1 By Ernie Tretkoff times of great pressure on librar- schools, which account for 35% of At the APS April meeting, speak- stayed in physics. In Whitten’s study, the successful de- ies we would like to share the all subscriptions, will see prices ers in a session on keeping women Sonnert also compared the GPA partments did not necessarily have savings,” said McIlrath decrease 3%, while tiers 2 and 3, and girls in science addressed rea- of women in physics with that of more women faculty, or more pro- Journals are priced according (54% of all subscriptions) will get a sons for the persistently low men, and found that women consis- grams specifically aimed at women. to a five-tier system, in which larger, 1% decrease, and the largest insti- numbers of women in physics and tently had a higher GPA, possibly Some students in Whitten’s study more research-intensive institu- tutions, tiers 4 and 5, will receive a what physics departments can do to suggesting a difference in the self- said they liked the “family atmo- tions pay more than smaller, less smaller decrease of .5%. “Everyone become more “female friendly.” confidence of women and men. sphere” in their departments, research-intensive schools. gets at least something,” said With the Project Access study However, departments with more especially those students from the This pricing structure, which McIlrath. Gerhard Sonnert of Harvard Univer- women faculty had more women stu- two historically black colleges has been in place for several years, These price decreases will sity investigated the careers of dents, and those women had less of Whitten visited. Historically black eases the burden on small, prima- apply to print-plus-on-line and on- women and men who received pres- a GPA advantage over their male colleges have a record of turning out rily undergraduate colleges, which line-only package subscriptions. tigious postdoctoral fellowships. The counterparts. a high proportion of women phys- use the journals less and are less Prices of individual journals have study covered women in many Although the Project Access ics graduates. able to carry the costs. Smaller changed to account for differences stages of their careers, from just study was carried out in the late Whitten pointed out that physics schools may also join together with in growth. For instance, the price after post doc to nearing retirement, 1980’s, and there have been some lags behind other sciences in terms larger institutions to form a con- of Physical Review E, which covers trying to find small inequalities that positive changes since then, Sonnert of participation of women. For sortium. statistical, nonlinear, and soft- might add up to account for the low said, progress has been slow. instance, while less than 25% of These individually negotiated matter physics and interdiscipli- numbers of women in physics. Barbara Whitten of Colorado physics bachelor’s degrees are deals also help reduce the burden nary research, has increased for Sonnert’s study noticed that College discussed her visits to nine awarded to women, 40% of math- on small schools that might not 2005, reflecting the especially these women did not drop out of undergraduate physics departments ematics bachelor’s degree recipients otherwise be able to afford access rapid growth of these fields. physics at a higher rate than men that grew out of her work on the are women. This implies that “what- to the journals. More information, including a did, but they cited different reasons Committee on the Status of Women ever it is that keeps women out of The smallest institutions will get full list of prices, is available at for leaving the field. Women were in Physics site visit program. Her physics, it’s not the math,” said most of the benefit of the falling http://librarians.aps.org/ far more likely to say they left phys- study focused on undergraduate Whitten. costs for 2005. These tier 1 institutional.html ics for family reasons. colleges. She compared the five Patricia Rankin of the University schools in her study that produced of Colorado, Boulder emphasized The study found some possible SLAKEY from page 4 differences in the collaboration pat- a high proportion of women gradu- the importance of strong leadership terns of women and men. Sonnert ates with the four that were more in keeping women in science. She the hydrogen report wound up microcosm of the one he so suc- noted that men were more likely to typical of the national average. reported on a program at her uni- with a link on AOL’s daily news cessfully employs on behalf of the seek out colleagues and self-pro- Whitten found no one major dif- versity called LEAP (Leadership page. It was seen by more than 30 APS: focusing on building a mote, while women were less ference between the successful and Education for Advancement and million AOL subscribers—a larger grassroots contingent and looking inclined to engage in such typical departments; rather, she said Promotion), which aims to increase audience than that for “American for provocative alliances. The stu- shmoozing and showing off. Some she noticed lots of little differences. the number of women in leadership Idol.” dents have roughly four months to women also tended to be more The departments that produced positions in science and engineering. As adjunct professor of physics develop that solution, but often perfectionistic, producing fewer more women graduates were more Rankin said she believes there are and biology at Georgetown Univer- that’s all it takes. This past semes- papers, but perhaps higher quality. friendly, open, and welcoming to still some small biases against women sity, Slakey is also helping train the ter, one team drafted their own bill None of the survey respondents everyone, and did a good job of in science, and even a small bias can next generation of politically savvy to replace mercury thermometers said that women think differently reaching out to introductory have a large effect. These biases can scientists with a unique class on with alcohol thermometers in from men, and marriage and par- students. Opportunities for student- be hard to avoid, she said, but even science policy. “The students come schools across the country. On May enthood appeared to have no faculty research helped keep small changes in a department can in knowing almost nothing about 6, Rep Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) effect on the careers of those who women in physics, as did mentoring. help. politics,” says Slakey. The students introduced the “Safe Schools Mer- break into teams, identify a social cury Reduction Act” into the House problem with a scientific compo- of Representatives (H.R. 4260). nent, develop a political solution “Slakey knows exactly what he to the problem, and then go to wants and exactly which Member National Science Board: Getting It Wrong Again? Capitol Hill and lobby. He grades or Senator is most likely to cham- them on what they accomplish on pion his causes,” a Capitol Hill By Roman Czujko the Hill. staffer said. “And his personal style During the week of May 10th, the elors in the physical sciences, engi- They cite visa problems for students Not surprisingly, the approach is easygoing and ego-less—a National Science Board (NSB) neering, and computer science and S&E workers as well as global he advocates in the classroom is a rarity on Capitol Hill!” announced two new reports: the combined in 2001 than in 1991. competition for people with these 2004 edition of Science and Engineer- Where is the declining number? skills. Regarding the latter, the NSB DARK MATTER from page 3 ing Indicators (a biennial publication) Second, the NSB reports that “the notes that many developed countries and a companion piece titled An number of jobs in the US economy have increased investment in S&E and drawbacks. A decision will be thing, the focus is on making it a Emerging and Critical Problem of the that require science and engineer- education and research jobs at a made by the end of 2004. truly international effort from the Science and Engineering Labor Force. I ing training will grow.” The NSB’s much faster rate than the US, and ILSCS will then establish a con- very beginning. In fact, interna- highly recommend the Indicators to assumptions are based on projec- the US now lags behind both Europe ceptual design, followed by a tional collaboration is almost a anyone who wants to understand the tions developed by the Bureau of and Asia in the total number of S&E detailed engineering design. The new necessity because of the high cost trends in science and engineering Labor Statistics (BLS). While pro- doctorates awarded. machine will cost significantly more of building the new facility. “These both in the US and abroad. jections of future demand are always I generally agree with this part of than the LHC—most of that cost was machines are very big and very The following are a few remarks fragile at best, these are particularly the report and believe that, in the for the magnets, with little need to expensive, and one nation alone on the three basic issues raised by problematic. near future, the S&E enterprise in build a surrounding infrastructure, cannot bear the cost,” said Turner. the NSB in their report. You can read The BLS projections were the US may well face increased since the CERN facility already “The next accelerator will be or download a copy of this report developed before the recent “dot international competition at the existed. The current estimated cost financed by the world, and the case at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/ com bust,” and their projected advanced degree level. is about $6 billion, and roughly 10% for it must be extremely well made nsb0407/start.htm. increase in total S&E demand was Encouraging US citizens to pur- of that will need to be spent upfront in order to justify the expenditure.” First, the NSB states that they driven largely by their assumptions sue engineering and science careers just to determine the feasibility of the The first step is convincing “have observed a troubling decline about the continued high growth is a noble goal. I believe that scien- project. The more advanced design other physicists. Unity is essential. in the number of US citizens who rate in the computer science and tists and engineers make an essential studies will enable scientists to nail And ultimately, chemists, biolo- are training to become scientists and IT workforce. contribution to economic develop- down a more exact price range. gists, Congress and the general engineers.” I have examined the data In addition, the NSB appears to ment, health, and national security. Duggan admitted that ITER, for public will also have to be won over. carefully and I see a very different have ignored problems in the cur- However, the NSB based their argu- instance, is experiencing a politi- The particle physics community pattern than the one they describe. rent S&E job market. The data for ments on flawed analyses and they cal site selection problem. The can only accomplish this by effec- Each of the S&E fields has been the first quarter of 2004 recently ignored the current economic reali- future linear collider will face simi- tively communicating to all of those declining and increasing at different released by the BLS indicate that ties, e.g. virtually every state is lar challenges, and hopefully the groups the importance of the sci- points and at different rates. In fact, unemployment for electrical engi- experiencing severe budget prob- scientific community can learn entific questions to be answered the total number of bachelor’s neers is 5.3%, for computer scientists lems. I fear that this report comes from the ITER experience. For one by the new collider, Turner said. awarded in the natural sciences and and systems analysts is 6.7%, and for very close to emulating the engineering combined (life sciences, computer programmers is at 9.0%. unfounded cries of shortage that More importantly, their disap- broad R&D investment strategy in computer science, engineering, math- These data are troubling for the phys- emanated from the NSF about 16 pointment and distrust turned many academe, government, and the ematics, and the physical sciences) ics community since most physics years ago. potential students away from gradu- private sector to ensure both that has increased by about 18% over the bachelors who enter the labor force I remember when the scientists ate study in engineering and the we will have more graduates and that last decade, an even larger increase after graduation usually find employ- and engineers graduated during the physical sciences. those graduates will have an than during the decade of the 1980’s. ment in engineering and the IT bleak economic times of the early I think we can do better than to increased likelihood of finding Similarly, even if we exclude the bio- workforce. 1990’s. Many of them turned their unrealistically raise expectations of employment. logical sciences because of their Third, the NSB is concerned that anger against the members of the the next generation of scientists and startling growth rate during the “the availability of people from other community who, just a few years engineers. If the NSB truly believe in Roman Czujko is the Director of 1990’s (54%), we still see that 10,000 countries who have science and earlier, had led them to believe there the value of science and engineer- the Statistical Research Center of the more students (7%) earned bach- engineering training will decline.” was an impending shortage. ing, then let them lead the push for a American Institute of Physics. 6 July 2004 NEWS

Did Gamma Rays Cause Ordovician Mass Extinction? Students Compete in Physics By Ernie Tretkoff Olympiad Boot Camp A gamma ray burst may have to life, Thomas and colleagues es- about the time of the Ordovician By Ernie Tretkoff caused the Ordovician extinction, timate. He believes such an event extinction. Gamma rays break up suggests Brian Thomas and col- occurs about once in a billion years. nitrogen and oxygen molecules in After an intense nine days ics problem-solving sessions, labs leagues at the University of The intense radiation of a the atmosphere and convert them filled with physics problems and and exams. The opportunity to use Kansas. This mass extinction, the gamma ray burst could have to nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen diox- lab experiments, five team mem- the university’s laboratory second largest ever, took place depleted about forty percent of the ide, the brown gas that makes up bers and one alternate were resources is especially valuable, about 440 million years ago and ozone layer, according to Thomas’s smog, blocks out sunlight, thereby selected to represent the United said Khoury. Labs had in the past wiped out about two-thirds of all recent calculations, presented at darkening and cooling Earth, and States in the 2004 International been a weakness of US physics species. the April Meeting. The ozone layer possibly setting off an ice age. Physics Olympiad. teams, in part because many high Scientists have blamed the would take about ten years to Some fossil evidence suggests The traveling team was school students do not have the extinction on a sudden ice age that recover from such a blast, said that some species, including sur- chosen from the 24 high school chance to become familiar with occurred at the end of the Ordovi- Thomas. face-dwelling plankton, began to students participating in the laboratory equipment and proce- cian period. Thomas agrees that the The loss of such a large fraction die off before the ice age began, annual “physics boot camp,” held dures. The boot camp program ice age clearly contributed to the of the protective ozone layer lending support to the idea that at the University of Maryland, Col- also includes a visit to NASA, and extinction, but suggests that a would have allowed harmful ultra- something other than cooling con- lege Park from May 21 to May 30. the students get some free time gamma ray burst could account violet radiation to reach Earth. tributed to the mass extinction, said The traveling team members during the week for socializing for both the onset of the ice age Because ultraviolet flux is attenu- Thomas. are: Eric Mecklenberg (Gates and playing games. and other effects such as ozone ated through water, marine Thomas and colleagues consid- Mills, OH); Anson Hook These students will travel to depletion that may have also been organisms that dwelt closest to the ered other possible causes for the (Princeton, NJ); Elena Udovina Pohang, South Korea to repre- a factor in the mass die-off. Tho- surface would have received the Ordovician mass extinction, such (Shaker Heights, OH); Jeffrey sent the US in the 35th mas and colleagues first reported most UV radiation, and thus would as an asteroid impact like the one Middleton (Austin, TX); and International Physics Olympiad, their hypothesis in a paper posted have been killed at higher rates believed to have killed the dino- Yi Sun (San Jose, CA). Also from July 15-23. The first Olym- on-line last September (astro-ph/ than those that lived deeper, said saurs. But no evidence has been chosen was alternate Daniel piad was held in 1967; the United 0309415). They presented further Thomas. Indeed, geological evi- found for such an event at the end Whalen (Andover, MA). States has been participating details at the April Meeting. dence confirms that species living of the Ordovician period. The two dozen students since 1986. This year, students Gamma ray bursts, the most near the top of the water column Thomas admits that there is also attending boot camp were from 72 countries plan to attend. powerful explosions known, are were hit hardest in the Ordovician no “smoking gun evidence” for a selected on the basis of their The US students will compete believed to come from super- extinction. gamma ray burst at that time, but scores on two competitive in a difficult series of theoretical novae, and are observed about In addition to depleting the he believes a gamma ray burst is a exams, as well as recommenda- problems and laboratory experi- once a day. A gamma ray burst ozone layer, a gamma ray burst may good explanation for the pattern tions from their teachers. ments, similar to what they within about ten thousand light have initiated the sudden episode of extinction and the cause of the “These 24 students represent practiced at the boot camp. years of Earth would pose a threat of global cooling that began at sudden ice age. the crème de la crème of high Crucial to the team’s success school physics students,” said will be the hard-working group Bernard Khoury, executive of coaches, consisting of Aca- Life’s Building Blocks Are Found All Over Galaxy officer of the American Associa- demic Director Mary Mogge, By Ernie Tretkoff tion of Physics Teachers, which Senior Coach Robert H. Shurtz, co-sponsors the US physics team Coaches Nicholas Park and Paul A class of molecules that make objects in the outer solar system. tem with an atmosphere. The along with the American Institute Stanley, Junior Coach Andrew up the building blocks of life is These molecules are made up dense, smog-like haze around of Physics. Lin, Lab Coach Warren Turner, widespread in the galaxy, Emma of nitrogen attached to a ring of Titan contains nitrogen, methane, During boot camp the students’ and Lab Assistant Violeta Bakes of NASA/SETI reported at carbon, with alternating single and and hydrocarbons, but little oxy- schedule is jam-packed with phys- Prieto-Gortcheva. the April Meeting. double bonds. This class of gen. Bakes’ simulations indicate the All known life depends on this molecule includes purines, pyrim- presence of nitrogenated aromat- class of molecules, called idines, pyrroles, and other ics in Titan’s atmosphere, MEETING BRIEFS nitrogenated aromatics, which are chemicals. They are known as suggesting that these chemicals part of DNA, RNA, and other aromatics because many of them might also have been produced in New England Section, March 26-27. The APS New England Section held chemicals critical to life, including have distinctive odors. the early Earth’s atmosphere. its annual spring meeting March 26-27 at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, the oxygen-producing photopig- Nitrogenated aromatics form in To confirm the composition of New Hampshire. The meeting was held in conjunction with the corresponding ments in plants and the a variety of environments, including Titan’s atmosphere, the European regional section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Among oxygen-storing pigments in planetary atmospheres and the sur- Space Agency’s Huygens probe, the plenary highlights on Friday was a talk by John Bahcall (Institute for animals. “They form the very foun- faces of icy dust grains in the currently on its way to Titan Advanced Study) on the history and future of solar neutrino research, along with dations of all terrestrial life,” said interstellar medium. aboard NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, lectures on physics history and EUV imaging of the Sun’s corona. Friday night’s Bakes. Bakes suggests that these mol- will sample Titan’s atmosphere in banquet featured an after-dinner lecture by Harvard University’s Robert Kirshner Scientists have recently discov- ecules could also have formed in early 2005. on the accelerating universe—a discovery dubbed “Science Breakthrough of the ered that these molecules are the atmosphere of early Earth. Her Some scientists are also consid- Year” by Science in 1998. On Saturday, there were lectures on X-ray imaging of present throughout the galaxy, said recent work, mainly with computer ering the possibility that a comet astronomical objects and NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Bakes. Observations have turned simulations, has focused on the delivered the chemicals necessary up nitrogenated aromatics in the atmosphere of Titan, which is for life on Earth, but Bakes said that Texas Section, April 1-3. The APS Texas Section held its annual spring interstellar medium, in comets, in thought to resemble that of early aromatic molecules are fragile and meeting April 1-3 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, along with protoplanetary disks around stars, Earth. Titan is Saturn’s largest moon might not survive an impact. the Texas Section of the AAPT. The program focused heavily on physics educa- in planetary atmospheres, and in and the only moon in our solar sys- Though scientists acknowledge tion, with talks on inquiry-based teaching methods, photon quantum mechanics the importance of nitrogenated for undergraduates, science Olympiads as a competitive teaching tool, and using aromatics, they have no idea how Java-based material for learning enhancement. Friday evening’s banquet speaker Sakurai Prize Celebrates 20 Years to get from the molecules to life, was George Kattawar of Texas A&M University, who lectured on sky archaeol- said Bakes. “The million dollar ques- ogy. The TSU Planetarium provided free shows for attendees throughout the tion is, ‘How do we get from them conference, and participants were also given tours of the university’s physics to us?’ ” research labs. In addition, the AAPT sponsored 13 hands-on workshops for phys- Bakes said she would bet on life ics teachers. being widespread in the universe because these molecules are found Ohio Section, April 16-17. The APS Ohio Section held its annual meeting April in so many environments. “If they 16-17 at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, focusing on the theme of extragalactic are made everywhere, perhaps life astrophysics and the new era of high-energy astronomy. Fred Adams of the University is everywhere,” she said. It might of Michigan gave a special plenary lecture on “The Five Ages of the Universe.” Other also be possible to have life based lecture topics included X-ray astronomy, the physics of blazars, ultra high-energy on an entirely different chemistry, cosmic rays, and large scale structures and the early universe. she added. Northwest Section, May 21-22. The APS Northwest Section held its annual meeting May 21-22 jointly at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho and at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. In addition, there Visit were numerous contributed sessions in such subfields as astrophysics and gravity, Photo Credit: Cronin Photography atomic and molecule physics, condensed matter, nuclear physics, physics educa- This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Sakurai Prize for APS tion, and industrial physics. Among the topics covered in the plenary lectures Theoretical Particle Physics, established in 1984 as a memorial to and in were using neutron stars as laboratories for relativity; quantum turbulence; stud- recognition of the accomplishments of J. J. Sakurai.To commemorate the News ies of molecular orientation in spider silk; and exploring interaction symmetries occasion, Mrs. Noriko Sakurai, the widow of J. J. Sakurai, was present at the Online with laser traps. Friday evening’s banquet featured a lecture by Ruprecht Machleidt April meeting in Denver, and she is shown here with this year’s Prize recipients, of the University of Idaho on grand unified theory. It was followed by the Ikaros Bigi of Notre Dame and Anthony Sanda of Nagoya University in http:// www.aps.org/apsnews/ opportunity to visit WSU’s Jewett Astronomical Observatory, which boasts an Japan. Both Bigi and Sanda had known J. J. Sakurai personally. historic refracting telescope. NEWS July 2004 7 2004 APS General Election Preview — Members to Elect New Officers, Councillors from 2004 Slate of Candidates Once again, the APS Nominating Committee has put together an outstanding slate of candidates. The election runs from June 15 to September 1, and members are encouraged to vote on the web but paper ballots will be provided on request. Those who are elected will begin their terms in January 2005. Each candidate’s biographical information is provided below. Expanded information, including candidates’ statements, can be found at: http://www.aps.org/exec/election2004/

FOR VICE-PRESIDENT FOR VICE-PRESIDENT

JOHN HOPFIELD CHARLES V. SHANK Princeton University Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Hopfield received his PhD from Cornell in 1958. He joined the Shank has been Professor of Physics at the University of California, theoretical group at Bell Laboratories for two years, and maintained a Berkeley, and Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory strong and fruitful connection there for 35 years as a consultant and in Berkeley, California, since September of 1989. He received the Ph.D. as a part-time member of the research staff. He began his teaching degree in 1969 all from UC-Berkeley and joined the staff at AT&T Bell career in the physics department at Berkeley in 1961, and in 1964 Laboratories. During his 20-year career at Bell Laboratories, he held returned east to Princeton as a professor of physics. He did research various leadership positions, including Director of the Electronics on the interaction of light with solids, and the interpretation of ab- Research Laboratory, before returning to Berkeley. At Bell Labs, he sorption and emission spectra, receiving (with D. G. Thomas) the Buckley Prize from the made pioneering contributions to the study of ultrafast events that occur in a millionth of a APS in 1969. His research interests having turned toward the interface between physics billionth of a second using short laser pulses. He contributed to fiber optic communications and biology, he resigned his Higgins Professorship in 1980 to go to Caltech as the Dickinson with the co-invention of the distributed feedback laser, a component in high data rate Professor of Chemistry and Biology in order to help build the multidisciplinary interface. In transmission systems. Currently, his research focuses on investigating ultrafast processes 1996, he returned to Princeton, where he is the Howard A. Prior Professor of Molecular using time-resolved x-ray techniques. Shank has received the George E. Pake Prize and Biology. His research focused on how a nervous system carries out its ‘computations’, and Arthur L. Schawlow Prize from the APS. He chaired the National Research Council’s Com- his work helped create the engineering field of ‘neural networks’. He received the APS mittee on Optical Science and Engineering, which published its report, “Harnessing Light,” Biophysics Prize in 1985. Present research continues the thrust of a physics-based under- in 1998. standing of neurobiology.

FOR CHAIR-ELECT, NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR CHAIR-ELECT, NOMINATING COMMITTEE

VENKATESH “VENKY” NARAYANAMURTI THOMAS F. ROSENBAUM Harvard University University of Chicago Narayanamurti is currently the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Rosenbaum is the James Franck Professor of Physics and the Vice Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Phys- President for Research and for Argonne National Laboratory at the ics at Harvard University. He also currently serves as the Dean of University of Chicago. His research interests center on the quantum Engineering and Applied Sciences and Dean of Physical Sciences. mechanical nature of materials at low temperature, where the mix of Narayanamurti obtained his PhD in physics from Cornell University statics and dynamics leads to a new class of phase transitions and to in 1965. He spent a major part of his scientific career at Bell Labora- states with unusual excitation spectra. In his administrative role, he tories, Murray Hill, NJ where he did work in low temperature physics, oversees $800 million of research activities as well as the University’s ballistic phonon transport, non-equilibrium superconductivity, 2D electron systems and technology transfer efforts. Rosenbaum conducted research at Bell Laboratories (Murray amorphous materials. His current research is focused on the study of ballistic electron Hill, NJ) and at IBM Watson Research Center (Yorktown Heights, NY) before he joined the transport and imaging of semiconductor nanostructures using scanning tunneling micros- Chicago faculty in 1983. He directed the NSF Materials Research Laboratory from 1991 to copy-based techniques. Narayanamurti has held a variety of management positions. He 1994 and the James Franck Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute focused on served as Director of Solid State Electronics Research at Bell Labs from 1981 to 1987 and problems at the intersection of physical chemistry and condensed matter physics, from as Vice President of Research and Exploratory Technology at Sandia National Laboratories 1995 to 2001. Rosenbaum received his bachelor’s degree in physics with honors from from 1987 to 1992. He moved to the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1992 Harvard University (1977) and both an MA (1979) and PhD (1982) in physics from Princeton where he served as Richard A. Auhll Professor and Dean of Engineering until 1998. University.

FOR GENERAL COUNCILLOR FOR GENERAL COUNCILLOR ANN OREL University of California, Davis RICHART SLUSHER Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratory Orel works in the area of theoretical atomic and molecular physics. She received her BS from California Institute of Technology in Chemis- Slusher is director of the Quantum Information and Optics Depart- try in 1977. She then attended University of California, Berkeley, ment at Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New receiving her PhD in Chemistry in 1981. She worked in the Laser Jersey. Slusher received his Ph.D degree in physics from the University Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a staff scien- of California at Berkeley in 1965. His present research interests in- tist from 1981 to 1985. She was then employed at the Aerospace clude nonlinear photonic crystals, nonlinear optical waveguides and Corporation in El Segundo, CA as a member of the Technical Staff until fibers, quantum optics and quantum c omputation. He has contrib- 1988. In 1988 she accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Department of uted to a broad range of optical physics research including light scattering in semiconductors, Applied Science. She currently serves as the chair of the department and is the Edward Raman scattering from phonons in solid and liquid helium, self-induced transparency, pho- Teller Professor of Applied Science at UC Davis. Her research interests are in the area of ton echoes, laser annealing, and new nonlinear materials. In the early 1990s he and his theoretical molecular physics, particularly the study of low-energy collisions between elec- collaborators demonstrated microdisk lasers in semiconductors as well as nonlinear optics trons and molecules and molecular ions. She is particularly interested in systems where and lasing in organic materials. He has pioneered experiments in nonlinear photonic crys- there is a strong interplay between the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom, for tals including the observation of optical solitons in fiber Bragg gratings. He received the example dissociative recombination and attachment. 1995 Arthur Schawlow Prize in laser spectroscopy from the APS.

PAUL STEINHARDT HERMAN WHITE Princeton University Fermilab Steinhardt is a professor in the Department of Physics at Princeton White has been a particle physics researcher at Fermilab for the past University and also on the fac ulty of the Department of Astrophysical 30 years. He completed undergraduate studies at Earlham College, gradu- Sciences. He received his BS in physics at Caltech in 1974; and PhD in ate studies in Nuclear and Accelerator Physics at Michigan State, and physics in 1978 at Harvard University. From 1981-98, Steinhardt was a Elementary Particle Physics at Florida State University and Yale. He was member of the Physics Department at the University of Pennsylvania, a Resident Research Associate in Nuclear Physics at Argonne National and a long-term consultant at the Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Lab. Laboratory for a period in 1971, an Alfred P. Sloan travel fellow at CERN Steinhardt is a theoretical physicist whose research spans particle phys- in 1972, and University Fellow at Yale from 1976-78. His research has ics, astrophysics, cosmology, general relativity and condensed matter covered a range of topics in Particle and Nuclear Physics, as well as physics. He played a central role in the development of the inflationary model of the work with Accelerators and Particle Beams. In addition to his Scientist position on the universe, producing some of the first viable models and showing how inflation can generate Fermilab staff, for the past 10 years he has also served as an Illinois Research Corridor the density fluctuations that seed the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. He Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Physics at North Central College in Naperville, IL. As an has explored models for dark matter and dark energy. Recently, he has co-authored the elected member of the Fermilab Users Executive committee in 1999, he has led and main- “cyclic model” of the early universe, a radical alternative to the big bang picture in which tained involvement with many communication efforts to bring information, concerns, and cosmic evolution can be described in terms of the periodic collision of branes. In con- focus about Physics and physical science research to many members of the US Congress densed matter physics, he co-invented the concept of quasicrystals and studied the elastic and governmental agencies in Washington and elsewhere. He has also been engaged in and electronic properties of quasicrystals and glassy solids. Physics and science education for a number of years. He is a member of the APS Forum on Education, past member of the APS Committee on Minorities, and a member of DPF and the DPF Governmental liaison committee. 8 July 2004 NEWS The Back Page Illicit Trafficking of Weapons-Usable Nuclear Material By Lyudmila Zaitseva and Friedrich Steinhausler Table 1. Government-confirmed cases involving The issue of covert trade in stored at facilities under civilian fissile nuclear material acting both weapons-usable material. nuclear material gained public control. Physical protection prac- on their own initiative and upon prominence when it was errone- tices at these facilities vary requests by other individuals. Date of Seizure Location of Seizure Type & Amount of Material ously claimed by British intelligence significantly. In five out of the six thefts, the 24 May 1993 Vilnius, Lithuania 100 g of 50% HEU sources that the former Govern- The Database on Nuclear material was stolen with the pur- 10 May 1994 Tengen, Germany 6.2 g of Pu-239 (99.75%) ment of Iraq under Saddam Smuggling, Theft and Orphan pose of selling it for profit, although, June 1994 St. Petersburg, Russia 2.972 kg of 90% HEU Hussein had tried to obtain ura- Radiation Sources (DSTO), which like in the Podolsk case, the perpe- 13 Jun 1994 Landshut, Germany 795 mg of 87.7% HEU nium from Niger. The far reaching combines state-confirmed infor- trators had only vague ideas as to 25 Jul 1994 Munich, Germany 240 mg of Pu-239 consequences of such assessments mation with unconfirmed open where to find a buyer. 10 Aug 1994 Munich airport, Germany 363 g of Pu-239 for society were clearly demon- source data, contains 25 highly Involvement of organized crime 14 Dec 1994 Prague, Czech Rep 2.73 kg of 87.7% HEU strated by US President George W. credible trafficking incidents groups could be a key factor in a Bush in his speech on January 28, involving weapons-usable nuclear successful transfer of diverted 6 Jun 1995 Prague, Czech Rep. 415 mg of 87.7% HEU 2003, using this incorrect informa- material, i.e., highly-enriched weapons-usable material to the 7 Jun 1995 Moscow, Russia 1.7 kg of 21% HEU tion as one of the reasons why uranium (uranium enriched to end-user in view of their logistical 8 Jun 1995 Ceske Budejovice, 17 g of 87.7% HEU Czech Rep. terrorists and countries belonging 20% U-235 and more) and pluto- capabilities in the smuggling of 28 May 1999 Rousse, Bulgaria 4 g of 72.65% HEU to the “Axis of Evil” posed a poten- nium-239. weapons, drugs, and people. There- tial nuclear threat. Seventeen of these incidents fore, it is very encouraging that no 2 Oct 1999 Kara-Balta, Kyrghyzstan 1.49 g of Pu In view of the occurrence of were confirmed by member states apparent links to organized crime 19 Apr 2000 Batumi, Georgia 920 g of 30 (±3)% HEU such significant errors even in the to the International Atomic Energy have been identified in any of the 16 Sep 2000 Tbilisi airport, Georgia Pu (0.4 g) intelligence community, it is not Agency (IAEA) (See table 1). Eight 25 smuggling cases. Also, no hard 2 Jan 2001 Liepaja sea port, Latvia 6 g of Pu in Pu/Be sources surprising that information in the other highly credible cases were evidence has been found to link any 28 Jan 2001 Tessaloniki, Greece 3 g of Pu-239 media on the topic of illicit traf- not officially reported to the IAEA of these cases to specific end- in anti-static devices ficking of nuclear material is Database Program for reasons users, such as rogue nations or 22 Jul 2001 Paris, France 2.5 g of 72.57% HEU frequently flawed by errors. unknown to the authors, although terrorist organizations, which Examples of such errors they have been publicly con- remain the least known link in the include failure to differentiate firmed by state officials. nuclear smuggling chain. these seals can be successfully faked, incident. This suggests that there nuclear weapons-usable material A total of 39 kg of HEU and i.e., material can be diverted without might have been other such inci- from other radioactive material, plutonium were intercepted dur- Inherent Uncertainties any apparent tampering with the dents, which were not reported by incorrect use of physical units of ing illicit transit, sale, and diversion In order to judge the validity of seal. Provided that material account- states and therefore went unno- activity and dose rate, and misquo- attempts since 1992. In addition, the current threat assessment, it is ing practices rely predominantly on ticed by the general public. tation of isotopic characteristics a cache of 90% HEU reportedly essential to also address the inher- checking the integrity of such a seal and enrichment levels. disappeared from a research ent uncertainties in the data used rather than the actual content of the Conclusions Since the terror attacks on facility in Abkhazia, a break-away for the analysis, such as: container, diversion of nuclear Until now, only 25 highly-cred- September 11, 2001, many publi- province of Georgia, during the • Corruption to defeat the physical material may remain undetected for ible cases of illicit trafficking in cations envisaged doomsday military hostilities between 1992 protection system: The black market extended periods of time. weapons-usable nuclear material terrorism scenarios, including the and 1997. The whereabouts of the value of weapons-usable nuclear • Inadequate equipment for have become known since record- deployment of a nuclear device as material are still unknown. In most material ranges from a few hundred detecting trafficking: The character- ing of such incidents was started a potential threat to society. of the 25 incidents, the material to several thousand US dollars per istic radiation emitted by nuclear in 1991. By comparison, there Although this possibility can no was stolen or is suspected to have gram, which is the equivalent of at material is of a type that most have been over 800 cases involv- longer be excluded, the probabil- originated from nuclear facilities least several months’ wages for border guards and customs offic- ing illicit trafficking in other ity for it to actually happen is in Russia. nuclear scientists and security guards ers cannot detect. Provided that nuclear and radioactive material, relatively low. The first theft of weapons- in the former Soviet Union or in de- they are equipped with a detection such as low-enriched uranium, Nevertheless, the issue of los- usable material was noted in veloping countries. Since corruption device at all, it is usually a simple yellowcake, and medical and in- ing control over weapons-usable Russia in 1992, soon after the col- is officially acknowledged as a seri- gamma radiation detector. dustrial radiation sources, during nuclear material has gained promi- lapse of the former Soviet Union, The situation is more dire still the same period of time. nence in the debate on national accompanied by an economic in case of traffickers familiar with The inherent uncertainties security in several countries. Posi- downturn and impoverishment of This undesirable the technical specifications of suit- in our current knowledge on nuclear tions in this debate are frequently the nuclear sector. An engineer situation is largely due able radiation shielding, since their smuggling make it difficult to judge based on questionable intelligence involved in the material weighing to the fact that knowledge enables them to suc- whether trafficking in weapons- rather than facts. and accounting procedures at information on illicit cessfully bypass even the usable nuclear material is really such This undesirable situation is Luch Scientific Production Asso- checkpoints equipped with alpha- a relatively rare phenomenon, or largely due to the fact that infor- ciation diverted almost daily gram trafficking of nuclear and neutron radiation detectors. whether it was and still is carried out mation on illicit trafficking of amounts of 90% uranium, which material is often • Limited prevention of illegal in such a clandestine, professional nuclear material is often associated were below the detection limits. associated with a high border crossings: Despite major tech- (in criminal terms) manner that it with a high level of secrecy. In Over a four month period of level of secrecy. nological and logistical efforts, no remains largely undetected. addition, there is a noticeable lack the nuclear facility. He had country has been able to stop the In either case, it is essential to of sharing of relevant information accumulated 1.5 kg of the illegal flow of drugs, immigrants, improve our current understand- among all parties involved due to material. He was arrested by pure ous problem in many of these coun- weapons, or stolen art across its ing of the true magnitude of illicit the security-sensitive nature of the chance at a train station in Podolsk tries, it is safe to assume that borders. trafficking in nuclear material, data and the justified concern by on his way to Moscow, where he corruption among personnel guard- Since the physical amount of since national security and inter- the security community not to intended to find a buyer for the ing and working at nuclear facilities nuclear material subject to smug- national stability heavily depend on reveal any weakness in the physi- HEU. The thief admitted that he cannot be excluded. gling is comparatively small, it can the correct threat assessment. cal protection system for nuclear had hoped to sell the material for • Flaws in the material accounting be safely assumed that illicit traf- [A slightly longer version of the material. about US$500, so he could buy a system: Accounting practices for ficking of the amount of nuclear above article appeared in the new stove and a refrigerator. nuclear material face two material needed for a crude January 2004 issue of Physics and The Facts Once an elite of the Soviet major limitations: (a) The mass of nuclear device—about 50 kg of Society, the APS Forum on Physics The probability for losing con- society, nuclear scientists were radioactive material is derived 90% HEU—can be achieved by and Society’s newsletter.] trol over nuclear material depends suddenly faced with dramatically indirectly from counting events of transporting it across borders on on the amount of material to be decreased funding, low wages radioactive decay with its inherent foot or boat using the services of Lyudmila Zaitseva established secured, the number of storage delayed for months, and bleak statistical uncertainties. This is gener- illegal immigrants. jointly with Friedrich Steinhauslern sites, and the level of physical pro- prospects for the future. As a ally acknowledged in the fuel • Deliberate underreporting of the Database on Nuclear Smuggling, tection provided by the facility result, the security of nuclear production by defining a certain per- diverted material: Any report about Theft and Orphan Radiation operators. Large quantities of material became very vulnerable centage of the nuclear material diversion or interdiction of nuclear Sources (DSTO) as a Visiting Fellow nuclear weapon-usable material to the so-called “insider” threat involved in the process as “material material highlights the fact that at the Center for International Secu- are stored at each of several hun- from facility employees, who unaccounted for” (MUF)—a poten- local and national authorities had rity and Cooperation (CISAC), dred facilities worldwide. About wanted to improve their financial tial loophole for covert diversion of lost control over the material due Stanford University. Friedrich 1,665 tons of highly enriched situation by stealing the material material which has already been suc- to inadequate material accounting Steinhausler, chair of biophysics and uranium (HEU) and 147 tons of and trying to sell it. In all credible cessfully used in Russia; (b) containers and/or physical protection. physics at the University of Salzburg, plutonium are stored for military thefts of weapons-usable material holding nuclear material are equipped This fact in itself may be suffi- Austria, is Director of the Govern- uses worldwide. known to date, the material was with seals of various degree of sophistica- cient reason for some countries ment Radiological Measurements Comparable amounts are diverted by insiders with access to tion. Irrespective of the type of seal, not to report each and every such Laboratory, Salzburg.

APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: [email protected].