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Scientific American, October, 1974 SCIENTIFIC ERIC EMISSION l\EBULAS $1.00 ({)etda1974 © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC Cars are like people. as is a 4-speed transmission, plus front and rear Some seem filled with inhibitions, concessions, stabilizer bars in the suspension. compromises. And to further demonstrate its utilitarian talents, Then there's the other kind. The kind that exudes Skyhawk is a hatchback. Which opens to reveal charisma. Confidence. Free spirit. seating for four, a generous luggage compartment, Buick's new Skyhawk, as its name suggests, is of an expanse of natty houndstooth upholstery and a the latter category. big tachometer. All standard, of course. It sits there, rakish and purposeful, square­ There's more, but space limits. Suffice to say if headlamped and aerodynamic, tautly suspended you've stayed with us this long, you're probably the on its radial-shod wheels. Like any confident design, kind of person Skyhawk was designed to attract. Skyhawk does not beg you to love it. It does In which case the two of you really not over-promise or boast. It simply is. And its pres­ ought to meet each other. ence inspires affection. At your Buick dealer. Yet for all its machismo, for all its tendency to look like some exotic European prototype, Skyhawk is as untemperamental as an old friend. Its engine is a Buick-built, 3.8 liter V-6 that is designed to be both responsive and frugal. High-Energy Ignition (no points or ignition condenser to replace) is standard, © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC SCIENTIFIC Established 1845 AM E RI CAN October 1974 Volume 231 Number 4 ARTICLES 21 TIlE INTERNATIONAL CONTROL OF DISAR\lM1ENT, by Alva Myrdal An agency is needed to disseminate arms information and verify arms agreements. 34 THE STRUCTURE OF EMISSION NEBULAS, by Joseph S. Miller Dye-transfer color prints show the distribution of ions in light-emitting nebulas. 44 HOW CILIA MOVE, by Peter Satir The hairlike appendages of living cells are molecular machines powered by A TP. 64 NITROGEN FIXATION, by David R. Safrany Thermodynamics and economics rule ways of making nitrogen form compounds. 82 THE DIMENSIONS OF STAIRS, by James l\1arston Fitch, John Templer and Paul Corcoran How stairs are designed should follow how they are used. 92 MIMICRY IN PARASITIC BIRDS, by Jiirgf'1l Nicolai The widow birds of Africa are among those that lay eggs in other birds' nests. 100 THE COORDINATION OF EYE-HEAD l\10VEi\lENTS, by Emilio Bizzi How these interrelated movements are synchronized is investigated in monkeys. 110 THE EXCAVATION OF A DROWl\EDCHEEK TEi\IPLE, by Michael H. Jameson A shift in sea level preserves a site for shallow-water archaeology. DEPARTMENTS 6 LETTERS 13 50 AND 100 YEARS AGO 14 THE AUTHORS 55 SCIENCE AND THE CITIZEN 120 MATHEMATICAL GAMES 126 THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST 135 BOOKS 142 BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 A R 0 OF EDI TO It S Gerard Pie! (Publisher), Dennis Flanagan (Editor), Francis Bello (Associate Editor), Philip Morrison (Book Editor), Trudy E. Bell, Brian P. Hayes, Jonathan B. Piel, David Popoff, John Purcell, James T. Rogers, Armand Schwab, Jr., C. L. Stong, Joseph Wisnovsky ART DEPARTMENT Samuel L. Howard (Art Director), I1il ArLel, Edward Bell PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Richard Sasso (Production Manager), Leo J. Petruzzi and Carol Eisler (Assistant Pro- duction Managers), Carol Hansen, Maureen McKiernan, Julio E. Xavier COPY DEPARTMENT Sally Porter Jenks (Copy Chief), Dorothy Patterson, Candace E. Trunzo GENERAL MANAGER Donald H. Miller, Jr. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Harry T. Morris ASSISTANTS TO THE PUBLI SHER George S. Conn, Stephen M. Fischer CIRCULATION MANAGER William H. Yokel PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC. , <415 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017. COPYRIGHT © 1971 BY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. NO PART OF THISISSUE MAY B!; REPRODUCED BY ANY MECHANICAL, PHOTOGRAPHIC OR ELECTRONIC PROCESS, OR IN THE FORM or A PHONOGRAPHIC RECORDING, NOR MAY IT BE STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, TRANSMITTED OR OTHERWISE COPIED FOR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE USE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER. SECOND-CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, N.Y., AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. AUTHORIZED AS SECOND-CLASS MAil BY THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, CANADA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $12 PER YEAR, U.S., POSSESSIONS AND CANADA; $15 PER YEAR, ALL OTHER COUNTRIES. EUROPEAN SUBSCRIPTION COPI�5 MAILED C/O PUBLICATIONS DISTRIBUTION SERVICE, ST. KATELlJNEVEST 1<4, 82000 ANTWERP, BELG IE. 3 © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC THE COVER The photograph on the cover, made with the 120-inch reflecting telescope at the Lick Observatory, shows the central region of the Great Nebula in Orion. The photograph was made by the dye-transfer process, in which three black-and-white negatives made through color filters are combined to produce a color print. Such a print reproduces colors more accurately than standard color emulsions do, and therefore better distinguishes the wave­ lengths emitted by the various kinds of atoms that make up the nebula (see "The Structure of Emission Nebulas," by Joseph S. Miller, page 34). The four bright stars in the center of the nebula are known as the Trapezium. The luminosity of the nebula is mainly due to the brightest of the four, the energetic photons of which ionizes the atoms of the tenuous gas around it. The green glow is radiated by doubly ionized oxygen atoms, that is, atoms from which two electrons have been removed. The three bright stars to the southeast (lower left) do not appear to contribute to the ionization. THE ILLUSTRATIONS Cover photograph by Joseph S. Miller, Lick Observatory Page Source Page Source 22-23 EROS Data Center, U.S. 50 Peter Satir, University of Geological Survey, De- California at Berkeley partment of the Interior (top); Fred D. Warner, 24-33 Graphic Presentation Syracuse University Services, Inc. (bottom) 35-37 Lick Observatory 51 Keith E. Summers, Na- 38-42 Allen Beechel tional Heart and Lung Institute (top); Georg!;) 44 Ellen R. Dirksen, Univer- V. Kelvin (second from sity of California at San top); Charles J. Brokaw, Francisco (top); Birgit California Institute of Satir, University of Technology (bottom) .i' California at Berkeley (bottom) 52 Peter Satir (left), George ALMADEN V. Kelvin (right) 45 George V. Kelvin SOlERA 46 Peter Satir, University of 64-80 Lorelle M. Raboni California at Berkeley 83 Sol Mednick SHERRIES (top); George V. Kelvin 84-85 Ralph Morse (bottom) 86-87 nil Arbel Almaden Flor Fino,1ight and 47 Birgit Satir, University of bone dry, the perfect aperitif. California at Berkeley (top 88 Ralph Morse Serve chilled. left and center); Peter 90 nil Arbel Satir, University of Cali- 92-97 Tom Prentiss Almaden Cocktail Sherry, delicate, fornia at Berkeley (top pale and dry, delicious on the 101-106 Alan D. Iselin right); George V. Kelvin rocks. (bottom) 110 Julian and Eunice Whittlesey Almaden Golden Sherry, nutty 48 George V. Kelvin (top); 112 Michael H. Jameson, Uni- and medium dry, appropriate Peter Satir, University of versity of Pennsylvania before, during or after any meal. California at Berkeley (bottom) 113-117 Eric Mose Almaden Cream Sherry, rich, soft 118 Michael H. Jameson, Uni- 49 Peter Satir, University of and moderately sweet, delight­ versity of Pennsylvania California at Berkeley ful with cheese and fresh fruit. (top); George V. Kelvin 120-125 lIil Arbel AlmadenVineyards, Loa Gatos and Paicines. California (bottom) 127-130 Jerome Kuhl 4 © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC We made 832,000 slide changes on our projector. Without changing our projector. There are 36 Sawyer's® Rotomatic® Slide And not only do we make our slide Projectors in the G A F exhibit at Disney­ projectors dependable, we were smart land that have made 832,000 slide enough to make them with a number of changes a year. intelligent features. Like the Pop-up Edi­ Yet we have never had to change tor, for instance. Automatic focus and them. Because none of them timer. Remote control. And an exclusive has had a single mechani­ 5-way slide handling system. cal breakdown. All they've If you've been considering any other ever needed during a slide projector, isn't all of this enough to year's operation is an change your mind? occasional new bulb and Another fine product from Ii'" stoppage for dusting. 140 W. 51 Street, N.Y., N.Y. 10020 ,....,,,a.I"·r Rotomatics. The Dependable Ones. 5 © 1974 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC Dressler. Yale University Press, 1964.) However, Judge Bazelon demonstrates LETTERS this in his article. The mere existence of his own Appellate Court affirms the Don't give legal position that "the definition of an [due process] and the appraisal of its ordil:\ary Sirs: adequacy are matters for [judicial] de­ mar� In Judge Bazelon's article ["Psychia­ termination." Yet he misrepresents the trists and the Adversary Process," by comparable position of the American ,�""",-""",- David L. Bazelon; SCIENTIFIC AMERI­ Psychiatric Association as "an adamant CAN, June] he fails to point out that the statement of what I must call profes­ adequacy of the adversary process to_ sional mystique." achieve justice is controversial within the Another distortion is his disingenuous legal profession, and that the verdict characterization of Rouse as "a patient often goes to the most skillful lawyer confined without his consent [who] sued rather than the party with the just cause. for release or for adequate treatment of Nor does he say that the acceptable his disability." This half-truth omits that methods of this process include "distor­ when arrested, 1S-year-old Rouse was tion (if not misrepresentation) and the carrying a fully loaded A5-caliber pistol, manipulation of bias [which] defeat[s] several hundred rounds of ammuni­ the possibility of finding truth or reality." tion, two electric power drills, hacksaws ("Lawyers, Truth, and the Zero-Sum and other "home hobbyist" equipment.
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