AUSTRALIAN PHYSICS 67 EDITORIAL Centenary Of
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Volume 49, Number 3, May–June 2012 Is it Braggs’ Law or Bragg’s Law? Is the Universe simpler than we thought? Nanopositioning Systems for Physical & Life Sciences RM21™: Microscope Platform for the Future 7 .#!'/',+)'%+#" *'!.,/!,-#-)0$,.* 7 #/'%+#"$,.*4'*1* 1/#.!!#//' ')'05 7 )),3/:#4' )# !,+9%1.0',+,$ ++,-,/'0',+'+% /0%#/+"'+/0.1*#+0/ AFM in 30 Minutes Shown with optional Nano-View® with the SPM-M Kit integrated nanopositioning and micropositioning system, camera &#'0'+!)1"#/ not included 7 "® +/0.1*#+0!(%# 7 +, ++,-,/'0',+'+% 3D Nanopositioning /0%# image stabilisation − 7 +, Join the Nano-Cyte® ++,-,/'0',+'+% Revolution! /0%# 7 4'/!),/#"),,- ® 7 .,2#+!0'2# +,.'2#®!,+0.,))#. /0 ')'/0',+$,."5/ 7 /0 ')'/0',+00&# ++,*#0#./!)# 7 )'*'+0#/".'$0 7 #/'%+#"0,'+0#.$!# 3'0(#.+)&."3.# !,*-,+#+0//1!&/ !*#./)'%&0 /,1.!#/+"/&100#./ Nano-View® Series: Integrated positioning solutions 7 +1)+"10,*0#"*,0',+1-0, ** 7 1 ++,*#0#.-.#!'/',+&'%&/0 ')'05 7 #0.,90/0,))'+2#.0#",-0'!)*'!.,/!,-#/ 7 ,*-0' )#3'0�,.-& ® μ+%#. )'"# ,,( 8 7 "#)$,.,-0'!)03##6#./-.0'!)#0.!('+% *'!.,/!,-5 Thebarton Campus, University of Adelaide 10 Reid Street, Thebarton SA 5031 Australia Phone: 08 8443 8668 Fax: 08 8443 8427 [email protected] www.lastek.com.au Integrate Agilent’s proven analog-to-digital technology into your design. Seamlessly design-in Agilent’s high-speed Explore the range of high-speed digitizers technology to fulfill your product requirements, while maintaining your in-house technical 500 MSa/s to 8 GSa/s on one or more channels know-how and intellectual property. Reuse and Resolution of 8, 10, 12 or 14 bits upgradability of both hardware and software Bandwidths of up to 3 GHz reduces your risk, protects your investment and gets your products to market faster. Flexible acquisition memory Be First — with Agilent Fast throughput with on-board real-time processing Select and compare the digitizer that best fits your need. Discover the Alternatives … ... AgilentA Modular Products www.agilent.com/find/embedded-digitizers © 2011 Agilent Technologies, Inc. CONTENTS 68 Editorial Australian Institute of Physics Celebrating 100 Years of Promoting the role of physics in research, education, industry and the community Crystallography Volume 49, Number 3, May–June 2012 AIP website: www.aip.org.au 69 President’s Column Marc Duldig asks whether AIP Executive the cost of scientific President Dr Marc Duldig publishing is sustainable [email protected] Vice President Dr Robert Robinson [email protected] Secretary Dr Andrew Greentree [email protected] 71 News & Comment Treasurer Dr Judith Pollard Is it Braggs’ Law New Academy of Science or Bragg’s Law? [email protected] Fellows Is the Universe simpler Registrar Dr John Humble than we thought? ‘Bumpy’ nanoparticles [email protected] improve solar cells Immediate Past President A/Prof Brian James Chondrules and the early Cover [email protected] Solar System Lawrence Bragg, aged 16, during his first Special Projects Officers year at the University of Adelaide in 1906 Ultra-small laser opens new Prof Warwick Couch – see the article by John Jenkin on page possibilities [email protected] 75 [courtesy: Royal Institution, London]. Dr Olivia Samardzic [email protected] 75 Is it Braggs’ Law or Bragg’s Law? John Jenkin recounts the remarkable collaboration between AIP ACT Branch father William Bragg and son Lawrence Bragg and their Chair Dr Anna Wilson central role in the foundation of crystallography [email protected] Secretary Joe Hope 81 Branch News [email protected] Recent activities by the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian Branches AIP NSW Branch Chair Dr Graeme Melville [email protected] Secretary Dr Frederick Osman 83 Is the Universe simpler than we thought? [email protected] Fulvio Melia argues for a radical reinterpretation of the Cosmological Principle and the Weyl postulate that would AIP QLD Branch lead to a simpler and more elegant view of the Universe Chair Dr Joel Corney [email protected] 89 Book Reviews Secretary Dr Till Weinhold [email protected] Bart Pindor on ‘Extreme Cosmos’ by Bryan Gaensler AIP SA Branch Charles Jenkins on ‘Energy: The Subtle Concept’ by Jennifer Chair Dr Scott Foster Coopersmith [email protected] Don Koks on ‘The Physicist’s World: The Story of Motion and Secretary Dr Laurence Campbell [email protected] the Limits to Knowledge’ by Thomas Grissom Lee Weissel on ‘The Minefield: Reinventing Science’ by Hans AIP TAS Branch Goodman Chair Dr Elizabeth Chelkowska [email protected] 92 Obituary Secretary Dr Stephen Newbury [email protected] David Caro (1922–2011) by Rod Home AIP VIC Branch Chair Dr Andrew Stevenson [email protected] 93 Product News Secretary Dr Mark Boland [email protected] A review of new products from Lastek, Warsash Scientific, Coherent Scientific and Agilent Technologies AIP WA Branch Chair A/Prof Marjan Zadnik [email protected] Inside Back Cover Secretary Dr Andrea Biondo [email protected] Conferences in Australia for 2012 Printing Pinnacle Print Group 288 Dundas Street, Thornbury VIC 3071 www.pinnacleprintgroup.com.au MAY–JUNE 2012 | 49(3) AUSTRALIAN PHYSICS 67 EDITORIAL Centenary of A Publication of the Australian Institute of Physics Crystallography EDITOR Late last year we celebrated the an- Peter Robertson nouncement of the Nobel Prize for [email protected] Physics to Professor Brian Schmidt ASSISTANT EDITOR of the Australian National University, Dr Akin Budi only the second time that Australia [email protected] has been awarded the prize. The pre- BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR vious occasion was 96 years earlier Dr John Macfarlane [email protected] when the father–son team of William and Lawrence Bragg were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1915 for their SAMPLINGS EDITOR Dr Don Price foundation of the field of crystallography in 1912. [email protected] In our cover story, John Jenkin recounts the remarkable collaboration EDITORIAL BOARD between William and Lawrence that led to the publication of the A/Prof Brian James (Chair) Bragg Law in 1912, the seminal paper in the development of crys- [email protected] tallography. John spent most of his career in physics at LaTrobe Dr M. A. Box Dr J. Holdsworth University and then made the transition into the history and A/Prof R. J. Stening philosophy of science. He is the leading authority on the history of Prof H. A. Bachor the Bragg family and in 2008 Oxford University Press published his Prof H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop masterly study on the father–son collaboration. John presents the Prof S. Tingay case that the contribution by Lawrence – relative to his father – to ASSOCIATE EDITORS the discovery of the Bragg Law has been seriously underestimated. Dr John Humble [email protected] Dr Laurence Campbell [email protected] The centenary of the publication of the Bragg Law will be celebrated Dr Frederick Osman [email protected] this year with a number of events, including a conference to be held in Dr Wen Xin Tang [email protected] December at the University of Adelaide, where William was Professor of Mathematics & Experimental Physics and where Lawrence completed SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Articles for submission to Australian Physics should be sent by email to the his undergraduate degree (see inside back cover for details). Editor: [email protected]. The text should be sent as a Word file and Our second feature article we hope will cause some controversy. authors are advised to consult a recent issue as a guide to style. Images Former graduate of the University of Melbourne, and now at the should not be embedded in the document, but should be sent as high University of Arizona, Fulvio Melia proposes a re-examination of resolution attachments in JPG or PNG format. Authors should also send a short bio and a recent photo. The Editor reserves the right to edit articles the Cosmological Principle and the Weyl postulate. He argues that based on space requirements and editorial content. Contributions should be a new interpretation leads to a simpler and more elegant Universe, sent to the Editor. one that avoids some of the difficulties facing the current standard ADVERTISING model of Cosmology. If Melia’s ideas are correct, the concept of Enquiries should be sent to the Editor. inflation would no longer be necessary to describe the very early Published six times a year. Universe, a concept which has been one of the central pillars of cos- © 2012 Australian Institute of Physics Inc. Unless otherwise stated, all written mology over the past 30 years. If you have any comments on this content in Australian Physics magazine is subject to copyright of the AIP and article, we would welcome a ‘Letter to the Editor’ setting out your must not be reproduced wholly or in part without written permission. ideas. Print Post approved PP 224960 / 00008 As this issue goes to press, we are anxiously waiting on the an- ISSN 1837-5375 nouncement of the site selected for the giant radio telescope known The statements made and the opinions expressed in Australian Physics do as the Square Kilometre Array. Will it be Australia–New Zealand not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Institute of Physics or its or Southern Africa or both? The announcement was originally Council or Committees. scheduled to be made in February, but the fact that is has been post- PRODUCTION poned suggests that it is a very close race between the rival bids. We Control Publications Pty Ltd Box 2155 Wattletree Rd PO, VIC 3145. passionately hope that the decision goes our way. [email protected] Peter Robertson 68 AUSTRALIAN PHYSICS 49(3) | MAY–JUNE 2012 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Is the cost of scientific publishing sustainable? It is always nice to start my column quests to cull the lists so that the lim- with recent good news.