Vol. 2. No. 1. SPRING Here is finally some really good news: The Association of Physics Students (APS) of Russia visit to laboratories in Physics Institute SPBU. Accord- has offered to arrange the ICPS’94. In the Central Office ing the possibilities the cultural program will be organ- we agree on that this is the best possible solution to the ized. conference problem, and have therefore given the com- The deadline to send registration forms is April mittee in St. Petersburg green light. We are very much 30th 1994. The last day to send report topics for pub- looking forward to meet you all in St. Petersburg. lishing in the bulletin is July 1st 1994. For connection with the ICPS’94 Organizing Committee it best to use ICPS’94. FAX TELEX or E-Mail. The physical mail communica- Date: 15.-21. August tion will be organized via the central office of IAPS. Place: St. Petersburg, Russia The address of the Organizing Committee is: Organization fee: 110$. APS (Association of Physics Students of Russia) Contact Person: Alexander Pavlov, Secretary of APS Rus- Participants: Undergraduate and postgraduate stu- sia International Headquarters of APS Russia Depart- dents , physics majors The amount of participants is not ment of Physics SPbU Ulianovskaja 1, Stary Petergof limited. 198904 Saint-Petersburg Russia All participants will be accommodated in dormitories Phone: (812)-428-43-13 in Stary Petergof. Meal will be provided for all partici- Fax: (812)-428-66-49 pants in a students Dining Hall. There will be organized a E-mail: [email protected]

CERN & ESRF Visit I would strongly recommend you also to stay Thurs- The CERN visit has been extended with a visit to the day night in Geneva. coming great center of physics in Europe: European HOW Synchroton Radiation Facility, ESRF, in France. By train: (Central European Time) If you are interested in seeing how physics are done If you come from north: Go to Lyon. Departure Lyon in the REAL WORLD, don’t waste this opportunity to monday 18th at 4.30 pm - arrival Grenoble at 5.58 pm visit two of the most important world centers of physics. If you come from south: Departure Barcelona monday WHEN & WHERE the 18th at 10.10 am - departure Valence at 4.27 pm - Monday 18th of april to Thursday 21st of april 1994. arrival Grenoble at 5.27 pm Those who want to can of course stay longer in Geneva. If you come from France: Departure Paris monday ESRF - Location address: Polygone Scientifique Louis the 18th at 2.37 pm - arrival Grenoble at 5.42 Neel Avenue des Martyrs Grenoble France If you come from east: (Russia-Berlin-Zurich, Sofia- You arrive on your own the Wien-Zurich etc.) Departure Zurich 18th of april in the afternoon, at monday the 18th at 12.03 pm - arrival the youth hostel mentioned under Geneva at 3.02 pm -Departure Geneva accomodation. The visit begins at 4.oo pm - arrival Grenoble at 6.11 Tuesday the 19th in the morning. pm Departure to Geneva at 6.11 pm the ACCOMODATION same day. The accomodation in Grenoble CERN in Geneva, Switzerland: (one night) will be at: We arrive at Geneva in the Auberge de Jeunesse d’Echirolles evening Tuesday the 19th. The 10 rue du Gresivaudan Echirolles (Fax: CERN visit begins Wednesday the +33 76 09 38 99) 20th at 10 am. The program at The hostel is situated on the out- CERN finishes Thursday 21st in skirts of Grenoble. There are two buses the afternoon. which stop near the hostel, the No.1 2 SPRING, 1994 and No.8. The stop is “La Quinzaine”. The rooms are ferent way. A little later GamMartin sat down to of 6-8 people. Breakfast included in the price. eat. Suddenly the vicious Cosine popped up front Acommodation in Geneva at: Oberge de Jeunes of him and asked for a logarithm baked in ash. (youth hostel) Rue Rothscaild (phone: +41 227326260) But because the vicious Cosine didn’t get it, he The youth hostel is placed nearby Geneva railway whipped out his sign and began to fight against station, and there are good bus connections to CERN. The rooms are with 4-6 beds. Breakfast included in GamMartin. Since the vicious Cosine wasn’t able the price. to regulate himself to Y, he became enraged and The reservations will be done by the IAPS Central equated himself to zero. GamMartin went on and Office. suddenly he saw a fairly-tale compound fraction. PRICE He went upstairs to the numerator, where he ad- The visits at CERN and ESRF are free of charge. mired magnificent equations and shining un- Approximable prices: knowns. After he looked on the numerator, he Youth hostel, Grenoble 65 F (french franc) went downstairs to the denominator, where he Train ticket from Grenoble to Geneva 22 CHF wandered among wonderful Sine-curves and Youth hostel, Geneva 20 CHF a night brocade-functions. He even peeped behind the pa- Dinner at CERN 10 CHF 1 CHF = 1.20 DM = 0.70 $ rentheses. But, Oh my God, what did he see ?! Know that you moreover have to pay for food the There was the old Tangent, bound and lying un- whole period and the travel expences to Grenoble and der a square root sign! When the old Tangent from Geneva. looked at GamMartin, he said: WHO -Look at me, boy! The vicious Cosine occu- Every physics student at an intitution of higher edu- pied my realm, bound me, put me into cation is welcome to participate. parentheneses and tucked me under the square DEADLINE root sign. Last day to assign to the visit is the 31st of march ’94. He had just said this when the cunning Se- *** Nikolaj Berntsen and Nanna Nicolaisen are at the moment trying to raise money to pay some of the cant, the nephew of the vicious Cosine sped in. travel and housing expences, but we cannot promise But GamMartin didn’t hesitate either. He anything yet. The sooner we know the number of par- whipped his geometrical mean out and charged. ticipants the easier it is to get sponsoring. So please The cunning Secant fell to the ground and don’t hesitate to answer. GamMartin bound his arms and legs and extracted International Association of Physics Students a root from him. Then the old Tangent said: -Because you unbound me, I give you all my Tale of the vicious Cosine realm and all my sides: Amanda, Beate and Tale of the vicious Cosine Once upon a time, Cecilia. beyond even the Great System of X-Y Coordi- So GamMartin answered: nates, lived an old Triangle, who had three an- -Your Majesty! I think that three sides would gles: Alfons, BeThomas and GamMartin. One be too much for me. They would neutralize me day in an afternoon of a unitradiused autumn, soon. I would rather call for my brothers. the old Triangle sent for his angles and said: So he blew his whistle, and Alfons and -My dear sons! Soon I will transform myself BeThomas appeared immediately. Alfons chose to the other-worldly plane of projection. Try your Amanda, BeThomas chose Beata and fortune in the great Trigonometry! GamMartin chose Cecilia. They stood facing So he gave them three logarithm baked in each other. Raising to a power and bringing to ash and started them off. The three angles strolled a square were in progress during the next seven along they reached a cross-way. There they sat days and nights. Young equotations were happy down below a huge fraction, made a fire from in proportion to each other and a little after they signs and apathetically made an interpolation. produced the least common multiple. Perhaps now When they had rested each angle started on a dif- they are even searching the greatest common fac- tor, if they haven’t been simplified by each other. SPRING, 1994 3

Study of Physics sification, and he Quite the opposite with the education system in France and Denmark in Denmark! In many cases the teacher follows The members of IAPS Copenhagen have closely a standard text-book. The students first asked me to write about my study experience in read the chapter which will then be discussed in France and Denmark. the lecture. They are therefore well prepared for Let us start with the country I know best: the lectures (id France. I have enjoyed my studies in France Instead of anonymous written examinations, (Paris), although it hasn’t been “at no cost”. Here as they are common in France, prevail oral ex- is a short introduction for all those, who haven’t aminations. At the end of a semester course the got an idea about studies and university life in students get a series of topics, about one of them France. (decided by lots) they will have to talk during After final school examination (“baccalaur!at”) the examination. most of the young, well-educated Frenchmen Particularly characteristic for Danish students (Frenchwomen), especially those of “b.c.b.g.” is their tendency to “get out”, to leave their coun- type (“bon chic bon genre” !), try to enter one of try. They are in this regard completely opposite the “Grandes Ecoles” via a competitive exami- to French students! “Vil du ud?” (Do you want nation (“concours”). Am to get out?) is written on the many bills posted This means that they suddenly need a tie for on the notic every day’s life. !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! Centrale. These Grandes Ecoles, where mainly Paris VI) applied science and engineering are taught Indeed, a considerable part of the students (20 , have indeed a very good budget, a lot of to 30%, personal estimate) spend a longer periode teachers (with respect to a given number of stu- (at least half a year) at a foreign university (most dents) and a respectable research potential. They of them in England, Sweden or Germany). have also a big tradition; - the pride of the “grande So far!! nation” partly rests on the “Grandes Ecoles”: as a preliminary conclusion, the Danish sys- Alfred Kastler, tem seems to be preferable to the French one. !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! However, this conclusion may be influenced by Paris VI) the fact that my detail knowledge on the French Those young Frenchmen (Frenchwomen) who system is somewhat better than the one on the do not succeed in entering a “Grande Ecole” (for Danish system. I therefore the German readers: die sog. “verkrachten !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! Studenten”), normally land up in one of the “fac- Paris VI) ulties”. These latter institutions have a smaller Walter Goetz budget and are normally ov !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! Paris VI) Paris VI) tradition; “La s!lection r!v]le le talent.” (The selection - the pride of the “Grande Nupwith good, old reveals the talent; advertising of a private busi- textbooks, but with on exercises a standard ness school). This slogan is quite all right, but textonespending on the drawn also very typical for the French way of thinking. !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur (Universit! How does such a “concours” look like? The Paris VI) candidate is confronted with a lot of (quite diffi- “”Provided that the previous assumption is cult) calculation problems in mathematics and true, they are d for the lectures physics. The one, solving the highest percentage !Quotation: B. Cagnac, Professeur of the given problems, will be on top of the clas- (Universit! Paris VI) 4 SPRING, 1994

PHYSICS or/and ETHICS is however, as the physicists of the future, our obligation to take a stand and make a code of “ In the last century, scientists knew less than ethics for science. How far are we ready to go, what was actually usedin practise. For example, and are we willing to move our limits for money? the steam engine was invented before scientists Today we can see and feel the unintended conse- really knew what thermodynamics was. In this quences of previous times projects. Especially in century situation has changed:we know a lot more the area of nuclear power there has been horrify- than what is really used in everyday life - and this ing examples. As Patroklosz we think a dia- is not simply a greater knowledge, but the kind logue between students all over the world are of of knowledge that has reacheda critical point: now extreme importance. Therefore we have thought we are able to destroy everything on our planet. about arranging a physics ethicsconference for Do you think that mankind is ready to “cope” physics students this spring or maybe next au- with such a possibility?Do you think we are ready tumn. The conference would be held in Copen- to handle the wide gap that has aroused between hagen over a weekend and there would be in- our scientific development and our social-eco- vited speakers for lectures and introductions to nomic development? Unfortunate-ly we know discussions. The conference fee are planned to what happened when physicists discovered nu- be 40 $ for western and 30 $ for eastern coun- clear power - what willhappen when genetic sur- tries. The fee includes full accomodation - hope- gery is fully developed? Are we only physicist fully at a conference center just beside ‘Kron- livingin a lighthouse or social beeings as well? borg’ (The castle of Hamlet). We would like to Do we, physicists have great res-ponsibility to- get some respons from you. If this has any inter- wards other people on Earth because of our est we will start fond-raiseing the 100.000 Dkr knowledge? Do we have small responsibility? Do that is needed. Please give us a hint whether you we have any responsibility at all? Shouldn’twe would like to participate. The minimum amount know a bit more about how our activity affects of participants is 30. Please spread the word the life of the society?What is the role of a scien- about the conference to your friends and tist in today’s world, what is his responsibility if colleguesat he wants to be in good conscience with other peo- ple and himself? We don’t think that these ques- tions can be answered by sitting besides ourdesks The IAPS and reading a book about physics. These ques- The International Association of Physics tions could only be answeredif we met students Students, IAPS, has in its six years livetime living in other countries and other cultures; we created a comprehensive network of young could talk,argue and understand each other - with physicists in Europe and USA, which may be our personal views becoming wider andwider predicted to get contructive and long-termed every time. The younger we are - the easier we impacts on the international standard of the make friends and our worldneeds friendships to profession. I have seen the 1992-93 Annual live in peace. “ These words is written by one of Report, and it bear witness to an impressive the pioneers of IAPS, Patroklosz Budai. The ex- professional activity level andindicates new ini- cerpt is from his opening speach at the first inter- tiatives coming. Danish physics students will national conference for physics students in 1986. in many ways profit by IAPS, and I can warmly The following year IAPS was officially formed. recommend the association in connection with One of the main aims of IAPS are to promote possible prospective fund applications for fi- truth and understanding between physics students nancial support. throughout the world. Today the ideas and ques- Ove Nathan, Vice Chancellor (Originally written in danish. Translated by the tions mentioned above still are just as important Central Office) and relevant as in 1986. They are not easy to deal with, and there are no final answers ofcourse. It SPRING, 1994 5

Maybe somebody finds useful following list ... Maybe somebody finds useful following list tary transport and chemical phenomena. At the of physics departments at the Faculty of Math- presentee department works on 6 grant ematics and Physics of Comenius University projects. The department has a good experi- Bratislava, Slovakia and overview of their pro- ence with cooperation with electronic indus- grams. try, plasma welding and various applications DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY AND of the crone discharge. The department coop- ASTROPHYSICS deals with solar physics and erates with many evaluated teams abroad, such interplanetar matter. Shares the observatory as Universite Paris-Sud, Orsay; Universita di ”odra - Piesky” with the department of geo- Bari, Eindhoven University ofTechnology, physics. Universitaet Innsbruck. DEPARTMENT OF GEOPHYSICS con- DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS centrates on exploring dynamical displays of is oriented on physics of atomic nuclei, el- the Earth magnetic field on the basis of mag- ementary particles and low radioactivities. The neto hydrodynamics of rotating liquids and on section of neutron physics concentrates on ap- exploring physical processes in the Earth’s plied nuclear physics. The department inten- ionosphere and magnetosphere. sively cooperates with CERN Geneve, UTNE DEPARTMENT OF BIOPHYSICS AND Dubna, G SI Darmstadt, MAAE Vienna. CHEMICAL PHYSICS deals with biophys- DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY ics of biological membranes, cooperative proc- AND CLIMATOLOGYis oriented on explor- esses inmultimolecular systems and transport ing the boundary area of the atmosphere, processes in complicated biological systems, solvingproblems according to requests of the in chemical physics deals with application of practice in the area of radiation, energy and quantum-theoretical methods in chemistry and water regime in Slovakia, analysis of the cli- biology and with problems in chemical matic conditions of some local areas, build- spectroscopy. Besides this it cooperates in ap- ing and protecting the environment, especially plication of biophysics in medicine, food in- from the point of air pollution. The depart- dustry and agriculture, nuclear energetics, ro- ment cooperates on the National Climate Pro- botics. gram and the State Ecology Program. DEPARTMENT OF SOLID STATE PHYS- DEPARTMENT OF OPTICS is oriented on ICS deals with semiconductor physics, theory laser physics, non-linear optical phenomena of the solid state and high-temperature super- in liquids and anisotropic crystals and optical conductivity physic. In the semiconductor bistability. physics it concentrates on implantation of ions DEPARTMENT OF RADIOPHYSICS con- intoGaAs, epitax layers of the group A3B3, centrates on radiospectroscopic methods of optical methods, theory of conductivity, tech- studying materials (nuclear magnetic and elec- nology of production and research the thin tron paramagnetic resonance) and applications layers of amorfhydrogenized silicon a-Si:H of the analogue and digital electronic devices and corresponding structures for solar in the physical practice. The department deals elementsand xerography. The research in high- with technical applications of some magneto- temperature superconductivity concentrates mechanical phenomena. ontechnology of production of thin supercon- DEPARTMENT OF THEORETICAL ductive layers of YBa Cu O and other materi- PHYSICS solves problems of the theory of als by magnetron dusting, investigating their gravity, theory of elementary particles, theory parameters byconduction methods and theory of the solid state, mathematical physics, theo- of high-temperature superconductivity. In both retical mechanics, history of physics, meth- branches methods of determination of the ma- odology of physics and didactics of physics. terial structure are applied. The department co- DEPARTMENT OF BASICS AND DI- operates with the practice in the area of ion DACTICS OF PHYSICS educates future implantation into metals, light-sensitive lay- teachers of physics, does some research in the ers for xerography and driving experiments by didactics and methodology of physics. End of usage of computers. the list. Next time some other kind of info DEPARTMENT OF PLASMA PHYSICS (sights, culture, etc.) will follow. concentrates on exploring the properties of electric discharges and corresponding elemen- Peter Hakel Bratislava IAPS President 6 SPRING, 1994

European Mobility Scheme for Physics Students before the end of October. can only say: TRY IT! You can The European Physical So- Unfortunately the process of read about universities in 26 ciety are convinced of the im- establishing the database was countries. There’s detailed infor- portance of student mobility in complicated by a serious lack of mation about courses, availabil- Europe, and has therefore made coordination between the vari- ity of places, examination ar- an ‘exchange programme’ called ous sites of the Net-work’s or- rangements, mobility arrange- European Mobility Scheme, ganisation. As this was intro- ments, general information EMSPS. This programme offers ducing unacceptable delays and about the university and much places at universities in Europe was compromising the entire more. You can use the database and Russia. For students to ob- function of the Network, we not only if you want to study tain information about their pos- have decided in the end to move abroad, but also to get insight sibilities there has been made a all operations from Dublin to the in the physics study at universi- database. To connect the data- IAPS Central Office in Copen- ties in other countries. IAPS base in UNIX you write ‘telnet hagen. The new Network Or- has started a cooperation with 130.88.20.113’, and there after ganisers are Klaus Jensen and the European Physical Society login at student with the pass- Klaus Lindemann, two active about having our network of word student1. The first thing members of the Danish IAPS Contact Persons included in the you see is a whole bunch of with a lot of experience in data- database. We will also ask the warnings demanding you to dis- base management. They will be EMSPS contact persons (pro- connect immediately if you delighted to receive any com- fessors from about 130 univer- aren’t an authorised user. But as ments or suggestions you might sities) to help getting a student you of course are a student with offer on the Network’s organi- from their university involved in no bad intentions you just read sation. the IAPS network. the welcome-part. From here I therefore ask you once The Central Office. you will be guided around in the again to excuse us for the de- very user friendly database. We lays, and I hope we may count on your participation in our ambitious attempt to spread in- Network of CP’s formation on foreign study to Paris, 14 February 1994 physics students around the world. Welcome! Dear Contact Person, many thanks for your interest in the With very best wishes, IAPS Network of Contact Per- Allon Percus co-founder, IAPS Network of Contact Persons sons, and for your patience. On behalf of the Network ad- ministration I want to offer my Dear (hopefully sincere apologies for the delays coming) Contact in contacting you. As those of Person, you who were present at ICPS’93 in Bodrum may re- into an active, operational part We are now in the final stages member, we spent a great deal of IAPS. It was our intention, of preparing the database in of effort last summer reorganis- as I announced at the last Gen- Copenhagen for the new IAPS ing the structure of the Network eral Meeting, to send you the Network of Contact Persons. with the intention of turning it first official Network bulletin The purpose of the IAPS Network is to spread informa- SPRING, 1994 7 tion as widely as possible about our goals for the near and far Dear Readers, the opportunities for physics future - other IAPS activities You are reading the IAPS students to study abroad. The We will also send you a MAGAZINE, which is the infor- Network is coordinated by the poster which you may wish to mation magazine of Interna- International Association of use for publicising the Network tional Association of Physics Physics Students (IAPS) as a within your department/univer- Students. The MAGAZINE was public service to physics stu- sity. already printed last year so as dents throughout the world. It If you have any questions, to inform the physicist and stu- is made up of Contact Persons - suggestions, or comments about dents in Europe and all over the students at universities in many the operation of the Network, world. It isn’t only published for different countries - who have please do let us know. We are physicist. We are waiting for in- volunteered to inform fellow very interested in hearing from formation from everyone who students about studying in their you. Sincerely, know something about scholar- respective countries. The Network Coordinators. ships, summer schools and etc. We are searching for new Klaus Jensen If you would like to publish Contact Persons. Being a CP E-mail: [email protected] some article in the MAGAZINE means that you agree to make Klaus Lindemann please send it to the central of- yourself available, on an infor- E-mail: [email protected] fice mal basis, to answer questions Postal adress: [email protected] from students at other universi- IAPS Central Office or to the editor ties about physics study at your Niels Bohr Institute [email protected]. own university. It also means +rsted Laboratory We are planning to print one promoting the Network within E-mail: [email protected] more magazine before the ICPS your university and letting your H.C. +rsted Institute in May or in June. -So please fellow students know that they Fax: +45 35 32 04 60 write us as soon as you can. Our can get information about for- Universitetsparken 5 plans for the future: 2-4 MAGA- eign study through the Network. DK-2100 Kbh O ZINES should be published in a As soon as we have received P.S. We would be particularly year whith more information. your verification, we will send grateful if you could provide us Thank’s, the editor. you the first official Network an e-mail address where we can Bulletin. The Bulletin will appear reach you. Using e-mail helps THE MAGAZINE regularly every few months and us all keep our costs down and Printed by ,,ef-bp” print, in will always be accompanied by a makes things far more efficient. Hungary, 500 copies. call for confirmation of the data With an e-mail connection you editor: János Kiss, we have on you. The first Bulle- and your fellow students will (Hungaryan Assotiation of tin will include information on: soon be able to access the Net- Physics Students) - how to make use of the work database directly, without Network - the membership and the delays caused by human in- composition of the Network - tervention...

International Association of Physics Students TE.HU IAPS Central Office DK-2100 Copenhagen O Niels Bohr Institute E-mail:[email protected] Oersted Laboratory Fax: +45 35 32 04 60 H.C. Oersted Institute Phone: +45 33 11 51 13 Universitetsparken 5 president: Bente Hansen [email protected]