People and Things
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
sure that it is good for us to search though we could predict how every chaos. And of course it's even for them, in the same way that molecule in a glass of water would more true for sciences outside the Spanish explorers, whey they first behave, nowhere in the mountain area of physics, especially for pushed northward from the central of computer printout would we find sciences like astronomy and biolo parts of Mexico, were searching for the properties of water that really gy, for which also an element of the seven golden cities of Cibola. interest us, properties like tempera history enters. They didn't find them, but they ture and entropy. These properties I'm also not saying that elemen found other useful things, like have to be dealt with in their own tary particle physics is more impor Texas. terms, and for this we have the tant than other branches of phys Let me also say what I don't science of thermodynamics, which ics. All I'm saying is that, because mean by final, underlying, laws of deals with heat without at every of its concern with underlying laws, physics. I don't mean that other step reducing it to the properties of elementary particle physics has a branches of physics are in danger molecules or elementary particles. special importance of its own, even of being replaced by some ultimate There is no doubt today that, ul though it's not necessarily of great version of elementary particle timately, thermodynamics is what it immediate practical value. That is a physics. I think the example of is because of the properties of point that needs to be made from thermodynamics is helpful here. matter in the very small. But we time to time, especially when ele We know an awful lot about water don't doubt today that thermody mentary particle physicists come to molecules today. Suppose that at namics is derived in some sense the public for funds to continue some time in the future we came from deeper underlying principles their experiments. to know everything there is to of physics. Yet it continues, and The realistic hope of finding a know about water molecules, and will continue to go on forever, as a small set of simple principles that that we had become so good at science in its own right. The same underlie all of physical reality dates computing that we had computers is true of other sciences that are back only sixty years, to the ad that could follow the trajectory of more lively today and in a greater vent of the great revolution in every molecule in a glass of water. state of excitement than thermody physics which Paul Dirac put in its (Neither will probably ever happen, namics, sciences like condensed final form, the revolution known as but suppose they had.) Even matter physics and the study of quantum mechanics.' People and things A.H. Wapstra has been appointed Physicist Bill Ash steps down as On people Knight of the Order of the Lion of the CERN Courier's correspondent the Netherlands. From 1970 to at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Julius Wess of Karlsruhe and Bruno 1983 he was Director of the Insti Center, where he took over the slot Zumino of Berkeley receive this tute for Nuclear Physics Research from Lew Keller in 1984, continu year's Dannie Heineman Prize for (IKO), now the Nuclear Physics Di ing the West Coast tradition of en Mathematical Physics for 'crucial vision of NIKHEF, as well as being lightened but refreshingly informal contributions to the discovery and Professor at Delft Technical Univer despatches. He was also the first development of supersymmetry, a sity. correspondent to communicate profound extension of the notion of with us via electronic mail. His space-time symmetry, that may un place is taken by physicist and au derlie unification of the fundamental Quantum theorist John Stewart Bell thor Michael Riordan, whose book forces'. The two theorists collabo of CERN receives an honorary 'The Hunting of the Quark' was rated on this work in the CERN D.Sc. from Queen's University, Bel published by Simon and Schuster Theory Division in 1973. fast, Northern Ireland. in the US last year. CERN Courier, April 1988 31 Strengthening scientific and technological commun de recherche, signs the visitors' cooperation between CERN and the Com book during his visit to CERN in February to mission of the European Communities (CEC). gether with Herbert Allgeier, Director in the CERN Director General Herwig Schopper CEC Directorate-General for Science and looks on approvingly as Karl-Heinz Narjes, Technology. CEC Vice-President in Brussels and respons ible for industrial matters, information tech nology, science and research and the Centre (Photo CERN 0653.2.88) A lecture by Denys Wilkinson, a dinner and general festivities at the University of Durham, UK, in February marked the 80th birthday of G.D. Rochester. During the March meeting of the German Physical Society (DPG) in Karlsruhe the 'Physik Preis 1988' was awarded to Alfred Petersen for his contributions clarifying the 'string effect' predicted by the Lund model for multihadron pro duction in quark-antiquark-gluon formation processes. This work was done for the analysis of three- jet events produced at DESY's PE- TRA electron positron collider. Pe tersen was then a member of the JADE collaboration and is now working in industry. Seth Neddermeyer 1907-1988 Seth Neddermeyer, co-discoverer with Carl Anderson of the muon in niques using scintillating fibres and Evolution Equations and Dynamical cosmic ray studies in 1936, died in silicon microstrips in the study of Systems (NEEDS '89) will be held January. As Anderson's first re short-lived particles containing hea in Kolymbari, near Chania, Crete, search student, Neddermeyer parti vy quarks. from 2-19 July 1989. Further infor cipated in pioneer studies using a mation from F. Calogero, Diparti- sophisticated counter-controlled mento di Fisica, Universita di Roma cloud chamber. Most of his subse Books 'La Sapienza', p. Aldo Moro, quent career was spent at the Uni 00185 Rome, Italy. versity of Washington, Seattle. 'How Experiments End' by Peter Galison (University of Chicago This year's DESY Theory Work Press) traces how the pattern of Colin Fisher shop ('Flavor Physics') will be held physics emerges from the laborato in Hamburg from 28-30 Septem ry. By way of illustration, a sizeable Experimentalist Colin Fisher from ber. Further information from Peter chapter deals with the fascinating the UK Rutherford Appleton Labo M. Zerwas, Institute for Theoretical saga of the quest for the neutral ratory died tragically in February, Physics, RWTH-Aachen, D-5100 current of weak interactions, dis aged 51. A classical bubble cham Aaachen, W-Germany, bitnet: ZER covered at CERN in 1973 by the fa ber physicist with a flair for innova WAS at DACTH51 mous neutrino experiment using tion, he helped develop the 1970s' the Gargamelle bubble chamber. generation of rapid cycling cham bers, going on in the early 1980s In conjunction with Daresbury Lab to hone the technique to a peak of oratory, the CERN Accelerator perfection with specially designed Meetings School is organizing a course on small detectors. Subsequently he synchrotron radiation and free elec turned his attention to newer tech The 5th Workshop on Nonlinear tron lasers in Chester, UK, from 6- 32 CERN Courier, April 1988 Italian high technology was on show at the At the exhibition, left to right, F. Venturini of German DESY Laboratory in Hamburg for the Italian Institute for Culture in Hamburg, one week in February, with one day given DESY Director Volker Soergel, Italian Am over to a symposium 'Scientific collabora bassador in Bonn Raniero Vanni d'Archirafi, tion between Germany and Italy' concentrat Antonino Zichichi, Italian Consul General in ing on basic research and accelerators, Hamburg G. Germano, and organizer M. di organized by DESY and the Italian Institute Capua from the Italian Institute for Foreign for Foreign Trade. Trade. 12 April 1989. Further information from Mrs. S. Wartburg, CERN Ac celerator School, LEP Division, CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzer land. The topic for this year's SLAC Summer Institute is 'Probing the Weak Interaction: CP Violation and Rare Decays', The dates of the In stitute are July 18th - 29th, 1988. The Institute includes a 7-day Sum mer School and three days of topi cal conference. Further information from Eileen Brennan, SSI Coordina tor, SLAC, Bin 62, PO Box 4349, Stanford, CA 94309 The 1988 Summer Study on High Energy Physics in the 1990s, spon sored by the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Colliders (R. Ruth), SSC (A: Chao, Society, the US Department of En R. Talman), and K Factories (M. Electronic Mail ergy, the National Science Founda Craddock). Further information The CERN Courier editorial tion, and Universities Research As from Joanne Day, Argonne Nation desk can be contacted sociation, will be held in Snow- al Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, through electronic mail using mass, Colorado, from 27 June to US, telephone (312) 972-6181, the EARN/BITNET communi 15 July. The aim is to examine and bitnet JSD at ANLHEP. cations network. The Editor's evaluate the opportunities for high address is energy physics in the 1990s, in cluding the possibilities with exist COURIER@CERNVM ing facilities, the proposed US Su perconducting Super Collider (SSC), Contributions coming in new accelerator technology, non- through electronic mail are accelerator experiments, special edited on the screen, and are purpose facilities, and innovations now coded for typesetting in instrumentation and detector before being sent to the print technology.