October 2000 NEWS Volume 9, No. 9 A Publication of The American Physical Society http://www.aps.org/apsnews
Site Visits To Identify Strong Candidates Olympians Return Triumphant for New Education Program
Over the course of 12 weeks, sev- and a co-principal investigator, “the eral key staff members from the APS, long-term vision would be a few the American Institute of Physics hundred colleges and universities (AIP) and the American Association whose physics departments are in- of Physics Teachers (AAPT) are vis- tensely interested in improving the iting colleges and universities around way they educate teachers.” the country to identify institutions There are three key components to participate in a new joint project to the PhysTEC program, according to improve science teacher prepara- to Stein. The cornerstone of the tion. In the past year, several national PhysTEC success strategy is arrang- reports have emphasized that the ing for an outstanding high school Photo courtesy of AAPT most effective way to improve pro- teacher to spend a year in the phys- The five members of the U.S. physics team display their hard-earned medals grams that prepare future teachers ics department of each participating from the 2000 Physics Olympiad in Leicester, England. From left, silver med- is by involving faculty from several university. These teachers-in-resi- alist Gregory Price, and bronze medalists Jason Oh, Michael Vrable, Joseph Yu academic departments across the in- dence (TIRs) will also work with the and Anthony Miller. For more coverage of the Olympiad and training camp, see page 6. stitution. Called the Physics Teacher college of education and local Education Coalition (PhysTEC), schools. The concept, says Stein, is the project will enlist physics de- that the TIR will bring knowledge partments in collaboration with and experience gained from teach- education departments to revise re- ing student-centered science classes, NMD Decision Follows APS Action quired courses and to enhance field and provide continuity between the On September 1, President Clinton announced that he was experiences for prospective physics physics courses, the science meth- deferring a decision on deployment of a National Missile De- and science teachers. ods courses, and local high school fense until at least the next administration. This action was With the help of planning grants science programs. They will help consistent with the recommendations made in an APS Council from NSF and the Department of Alicia Chang/APS physics faculty revise targeted phys- statement on April 29, and with the opinions expressed to the Education’s Fund for the Improve- APS Education Director Fred Stein heads ics courses and will help teach White House by many APS members in response to an e-mail out the door on another site visit for the ment of Post Secondary Education science methods courses. “The TIR alert that was sent out on July 31. PhysTEC program. (FIPSE), initial site visits have been can provide a realistic understand- The APS statement said, in part: “The United States should not made to Florida State University, rience to APS to help shape this ing of what science is being taught make a deployment decision relative to the planned National Mis- the University of Arkansas, new program. and how it is now being taught in sile Defense (NMD) system unless that system is shown – through Fayetteville, the University of Not all of the above university the schools,” says Stein, “as well as analysis and through intercept tests — to be effective against the Western Michigan, the University programs are expected to match per- offering valuable contacts with local types of offensive countermeasures that an attacker could reason- of Maryland, Oregon State Univer- fectly with the PhysTEC model, but teachers and school districts to im- ably be expected to deploy with its long-range missiles.” sity, Xavier University in New by later this fall six to eight universi- prove practicum activities and the In his September 1 announcement, President Clinton said, in Orleans, the University of Arizona, ties will be selected as test sites for placement of student teachers.” part: “I simply cannot conclude with the information I have today and Ball State University. Fred the new program. In addition, an- Another central component of that we have enough confidence in the technology, and the opera- Stein, APS Director of Education other 5-10 colleges and universities PhysTEC is restructuring and revi- tional effectiveness of the entire NMD system, to move forward to and principal investigator on these will serve as Resource Institutions. sion of targeted introductory deployment.” grants, brought his previous expe- Ultimately, says Jack Hehn of AIP See EDUCATION on page 2
Scientific Visits Encouraged to Neutrinos, CP Violation Highlight DPF2000 Palestinian Universities What are the parameters de- answers were suggested at the Au- consistent, determining the pa- Scientific research in the univer- including the two at Birzeit and scribing neutrino oscillation? gust meeting of the Division of rameters of neutrino oscillation. sities of the Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem that are probably most Does the observed violation of Particles and Fields on the campus These data come from three ba- West Bank is only just beginning, familiar to western scientists. Jasrawi CP symmetry agree with the of Ohio State University. sic sources: the deficit of electron and can be greatly helped along by pointed out that transportation from predictions of the standard In a plenary talk on Thursday neutrinos from the sun, the defi- visits from scientists who may al- Jerusalem and incidental expenses model? These were among the morning, August 10, Kate Scholberg cit of muon neutrinos produced ready be traveling to nearby can generally be provided by the host questions for which preliminary of Boston University highlighted the in the atmosphere, and the direct institutions. institutions. In addition to promot- recent announce- observation of muon neutrino to This was the message conveyed ing scientific research on the ment of the direct electron neutrino oscillations in by Najeh M. Jisrawi, a professor of Palestinian campuses, physicists on observation, by the terrestrial experiments. physics at Birzeit University, during See UNIVERSITIES on page 2 DONUT detector The latest results on the so- a recent visit to the United States. at Fermilab, of the lar and atmospheric neutrinos He was in this country both to tau neutrino, the come from SuperKamiokande, pursue his own research at HIGHLIGHTS last of the leptons a giant water Cerenkov detec- Brookhaven, and also to gain predicted by the tor in Japan. In addition, the support for the fledgling Palestinian standard model, direct observation of neutrino research efforts. In this latter goal he thereby formally oscillation by the LSND experi- has been aided by Irving Lerch, completing the ment at Los Alamos, has been Director of the APS Office of structure for which looked for but not yet seen by International Affairs. so much evidence the KARMEN experiment at Ru- APS members interested in pos- has accumulated therford-Appleton Laboratories sibly making a visit to a Palestinian Alan Chodos/APS over the last couple in England. Given the current university while on a trip to the Environmental Activist of decades. sensitivity, however, these two Nikitin Slams Russian Middle East are urged to contact 5 Nuclear Waste She went on to accelerator experiments are not Lerch by e-mail ([email protected]) or review the data, inconsistent. THE BACK PAGE by telephone: (301) 209-3236. DOE Office of Science, Image courtesy of BELLE B meson decay candidate in the BELLE detector. not all mutually See DPF2000 on page 7 Most of the universities are within 8 APS Membership Share easy driving distance of Jerusalem, Funding Goals 2 October 2000 NEWS
EDUCATION, from page 1 This Month in Physics History courses and their instructional ap- and what can be inferred, and how October 1897: The Discovery of the Electron proaches to promote active learning, this improves understanding of sci- preferably in an integrated lecture and ence content, should be a significant laboratory format. It is hoped that the part of the course.” Science lecturers traveling from redesigned courses “will encourage less Strong administrative support at town to town in the mid-19th cen- reliance on the standard, teacher-domi- all levels of the institution is also re- tury delighted audiences with a nated, transfer model of science quired to ensure the success of the device that could be considered instruction, and require a more spon- PhysTEC model, according to Hehn. the ancestor of the neon sign. taneous interchange of ideas,” says This includes the support of aca- They took a glass tube with wires Stein. Curriculum reform will likely demic deans and provosts, as well embedded in opposite ends, ad- draw from the burgeoning field of as department chairs. A memorandum ministered a high voltage and physics education research taking of understanding will be executed with pumped out most of the air. The place at universities around the na- each institution selected as part of result: the interior of the tube tion, according to Hehn, and will PhysTEC, and these will be an im- would glow in lovely fluorescent focus on instructional strategies such portant part of a major proposal that patterns. Scientists theorized that as bringing more inquiry-based, stu- will be submitted to the NSF and the glow was produced by some dent-centered experiences into lecture FIPSE by the end of the year. kind of ray emitted by the cathode, sections through cooperative learning The prevailing question to be but it took the seminal research of and peer-coaching techniques, and us- answered, according to Stein, is a British professor in Cambridge ing appropriate learning technologies whether the PhysTEC model is a University’s Cavendish Labora- inset: Archives; AIP Emilio Segrè Visual courtesy of University Illinois Urbana- Champaign/AIP ESVA Thomson in his office. Inset: a simple cathode ray tube. to enhance instruction. replicable concept. “If it is true that tory to finally provide a solution The third key component to the teachers teach as they were taught, to the puzzle. particles actually were, and hence years later that he believed PhysTEC program is to replace tra- then our vision for improving J.J. Thomson refined previ- undertook a third experiment to Thomson had been “pulling their ditional science methods courses physical science and physics teach- ous experiments and designed determine their basic properties. legs.” Gradually scientists ac- with inquiry-based courses that in- ing and learning in K-12 is to have new ones in his quest to un- Although he couldn’t measure di- cepted the first two hypotheses, tegrate learning theory, teaching the universities model effective cover the true nature of these rectly the mass or electric charge while later experiments proved methods and physics content. “This teaching/learning approaches in mysterious cathode rays. Three of such a particle, he could mea- the third to be incorrect, thanks course should enable prospective science courses for both majors and of his experiments proved espe- sure how much the rays were bent to the efforts of Ernest Rutherford teachers to teach future students to non-majors,” he says. “This should cially conclusive. First, in a by a magnetic field, and how much and subsequent researchers. The actually do science, which includes impact all prospective physics and variation of a pivotal 1895 experi- energy they carried, which would electron itself turned out to be helping them develop scientific hab- physical science teachers, includ- ment by Jean Perrin, he built a enable him to calculate the ratio of somewhat different from what its of mind,” says John Layman, an ing chemistry, geology and pair of cathode ray tubes ending the mass of a particle to its electri- Thomson imagined, acting like a emeritus University of Maryland mathematics teachers, as well as in a pair of metal cylinders with a cal charge (m/e). He collected data particle under some conditions professor and second co-principal elementary school teachers.” slit in them, which were in turn using a variety of tubes filled with and like a wave under others, a investigator. “Hands-on experiences For more information about the connected to an electrometer. The different gases. Just as Emil phenomenon that would not be followed by structured reflection PhysTEC program, contact Fred Stein, purpose was to determine if, by Wiechert had reported earlier in the explained until the birth of quan- about what the student observed (301) 209-3263, or [email protected]. bending the rays with a magnet, year, the mass-to-charge ratio for tum theory. Physicists also Thomson could separate the cathode rays turned out to be over discovered that electrons were only charge from the rays. Failing this, one thousand times smaller than the most common members of an UNIVERSITIES, from page 1 he concluded that the negative that of a charged hydrogen atom. entire family of fundamental par- charge and the cathode rays were Subsequent experiments by Philipp ticles, which are still the subject of the West Bank and in the broader somehow stuck together. Lenard and others over the next intensive research to better under- region are excited by the prospect of All previous attempts to bend two years confirmed the conclusion stand their properties. a new research facility, SESAME, to cathode rays with an electric field that the cathode rays were particles Thomson’s work earned him be located in Jordan on a site in a had failed, so Thomson devised with a mass far smaller than that of recognition as the “father of the wooded area with rolling hills about a new approach in a second piv- any atom. electron,” and spawned critical midway between Amman and the otal experiment. A charged Thomson boiled down the find- experimental and theoretical re- Jordan River. The core of the facility particle will curve as it moves ings of his 1897 experiments into search by many other scientists in is planned to be an upgraded ver- through an electric field, but not three primary hypotheses: (1) the United Kingdom, Germany, sion of the BESSY-I synchrotron, if it is surrounded by a conduct- Cathode rays are charged particles, France and elsewhere, opening a which is now being disassembled ing material. Thomson theorized which he called “corpuscles. (The new perspective of the view from and crated in Germany. When fund- that the traces of gas remaining term “electron” was coined in 1891 inside the atom. The knowledge ing is available, it will be shipped to in the tube were being turned into by G. Johnstone Stoney to denote gained about the electron and its Jordan for re-assembly. Jordan has Image courtesy of Najeh Jisrawi an electrical conductor by the the unit of charge found in experi- properties has made many key promised both the site and a contri- Location of Palestinian institutions of higher cathode rays themselves, and ments that passed electrical current modern technologies possible, learning on the West Bank and in Gaza. bution towards the operating managed to extract nearly all of through chemicals; it was Irish including most of our society’s Al-Quds is located in Jerusalem itself. expenses, but the majority of the the gas from the tube to test his physicist George Francis Fitzgerald computation, communications, says, “it may be easier to agree on necessary financial support is still hypothesis. Under these circum- who suggested in 1897 that the and entertainment. scientific relations than on politi- being sought. More information can stances, the cathode rays did term be applied to Thomson’s cor- —Adapted from an online exhibit cal ones, and one hopes that these be obtained from the SESAME web bend with the application of an puscles.) (2) These corpuscles are by the History Center of the Ameri- scientific contacts will promote site, www.sesame.org.jo. electric field. From these two ex- constituents of the atom. (3) These can Institute of Physics developed in greater mutual understanding in Eliezer Rabinovici, Professor at periments, Thomson concluded, corpuscles are the only constituents 1997 to commemorate the 100-year other ways as well.” Rabinovici be- the Racah Institute of Physics of the “I can see no escape from the con- of the atom. anniversary of the discovery of the lieves that Americans can play a Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is clusion that (cathode rays) are Thomson’s speculations met with electron. To view the full exhibit, see very positive role in this process. among those Israeli scientists who charges of negative electricity car- considerable skepticism from his http://www.aip.org/history/electron/. He feels in particular that lectures are very supportive of scientific ex- ried by particles of matter.” colleagues. In fact, a distinguished Birthdays for October: by visiting scientists can help changes between Israelis (and However, he still lacked experi- physicist who attended his lecture 7 Niels Bohr (1885) stimulate interest among students visiting Americans) and Palestinians. mental data on what these at the Royal Institution admitted 23 Il’ja Mikhailovich Frank (1908) “From the Israeli point of view,” he in pursuing scientific careers.
and Fulfillment Division, American Institute of Physics, Past-President Birnbaum (Materials), John D. Walecka (Nuclear), Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY Jerome Friedman*, Massachusetts Institute of Sally Dawson, Peter Meyers (Particles and Fields), NEWS 11747-4502. Allow at least 6 weeks advance notice. For Technology Robert Siemann (Physics of Beams), Richard address changes, please send both the old and new Hazeltine, (Plasma) addresses, and, if possible, include a mailing label from a General Councillors Coden: ANWSEN ISSN: 1058-8132 recent issue. Requests from subscribers for missing issues Beverly Berger, Philip Bucksbaum, L. Craig Davis, Stuart *Members of APS Executive Board will be honored without charge only if received within 6 Freedman, S. James Gates*, Leon Lederman, Cynthia months of the issue’s actual date of publication. McIntyre, Margaret Murnane, Roberto Peccei, Paul ADVISORS Series II, Vol. 9, No. 9 Peercy*, Philip Phillips, Helen Quinn*, Jin-Joo Song, Sectional Representatives October 2000 Letters to the editor are welcomed from the membership. Periodical Postage Paid at College Park, MD and at James Trefil, Virginia Trimble*, Sau Lan Wu Kannan Jagannathan, New England; Carolyn © 2000 The American Physical Society Letters must be signed and should include an address additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address MacDonald, New York; Perry P. Yaney, Ohio; Joseph and daytime telephone number. The APS reserves the right changes to APS News, Membership Department, American Chair, Nominating Committee Hamilton, Southeastern; Stephen Baker, Texas Editor ...... Alan Chodos to select and to edit for length or clarity. All correspondence Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD Michael Turner Associate Editor .... Jennifer Ouellette regarding APS News should be directed to: Editor, APS 20740-3844. Representatives from Other Societies Special Publications Manager ...... News, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20749-3844, Chair, Panel on Public Affairs Ruth Howes, AAPT; Marc Brodsky, AIP E-mail: [email protected]. Roberta Saxon Elizabeth Buchan-Higgins APS COUNCIL 2000 International Advisors Design/Production ...... Alicia Chang Subscriptions: APS News is an on-membership publication President Division and Forum Councillors Pedro Hernandez Tejeda, Mexican Physical Copy Editing ..... Danita Boonchaisri delivered by Periodical Mail. Members residing abroad may James S. Langer*, University of California, Santa Barbara Steven Holt* (Astrophysics), Eric Heller, Harold Metcalf Society, Gordon Drake, Canadian Association of receive airfreight delivery for a fee of $15. Nonmembers: President-Elect (Atomic, Molecular and Optical), Robert Callender Physicists Subscription rates are: domestic $105; Canada, Mexico, George H. Trilling*, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Biological), Stephen Leone (Chemical), E. Dan Dahlberg, Arthur Hebard*, Zachary Fisk*, Allen Goldman Staff Representatives APS News (ISSN: 1058-8132) is published 11X yearly, Central and South America, and Caribbean $105; Air Vice-President (Condensed Matter), Steven White (Computational), Jerry Alan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Irving Lerch, monthly, except the August/September issue, by the Freight Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania $120. William F. Brinkman*, Bell Labs-Lucent Technologies Executive Officer Gollub (Fluid Dynamics), James Wynne (Forum on Director of International Affairs; Fredrick Stein, Director American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, Education), Gloria Lubkin* (Forum on History of Physics), of Education and Outreach; Robert L. Park, Director, College Park, MD 20740-3844, (301) 209-3200. It Subscription orders, renewals and address changes Judy R. Franz*, University of Alabama, Huntsville (on leave) Treasurer Stuart Wolf (Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics), Public Information; Michael Lubell, Director, Public contains news of the Society and of its Divisions, Topical should be addressed as follows: For APS Members— Myriam Sarachik (Forum on International Physics), Ed Affairs; Stanley Brown, Editorial Director; Charles Groups, Sections and Forums; advance information on Membership Department, American Physical Society, One Thomas McIlrath*, University of Maryland (emeritus) Editor-in-Chief Gerjuoy (Forum on Physics and Society), Andrew Lovinger Muller, Director, Journal Operations, Michael Stephens, meetings of the Society; and reports to the Society by its Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844, (Polymer), Carl Lineberger (Laser Science), Howard Controller and Assistant Treasurer committees and task forces, as well as opinions. [email protected]. For Nonmembers—Circulation Martin Blume*, Brookhaven National Laboratory NEWS October 2000 3
Code Division Multiple Access: Enabler of the New Wireless Era By Andrew J. Viterbi
Between 1895 and 1901, For digital sources, two alterna- times as fast. The result is an occu- as the geosynchronous orbit space Guglielmo Marconi first demon- tive technologies have evolved for pied bandwidth approximately became more crowded and earth strated the feasibility and multiplexing and multiple access: Dr. Andrew Viterbi is a co- equal to the coded rate; hence the antennas became much smaller tremendous potential of wireless time division (TDM and TDMA) founder of QUALCOMM term “spread spectrum” is often with consequently wider apertures, communication, progressing and code division (CDM and Incorporated. He has spent used interchangeably with CDMA. transmission to and from satellites during that time from small CDMA). With the beginnings of equal portions of his career in This, in fact, better describes the began to interfere more severely homegrown experiments to the computer industry in the industry, having also co- origins of CDMA. As early as World with one another. Hence the transmission of the first transat- 1950’s, TDM evolved naturally founded a previous company, War II but with greater intensity interference suppression properties lantic wireless messages. In the since it is a way to multiplex sev- and in academia as Professor and sophistication beginning in the of CDMA made this the multiple century that followed, our eral parallel data streams generated in the Schools of Engineering 1950’s, spread spectrum was em- access technology of choice. lifestyle and culture has been in a single location into one serial first at UCLA and then at ployed in military communications Terrestrial mobile cellular tele- modified dramatically by a series data stream. Thus time division UCSD, at which he is now Pro- to protect against hostile intercep- phony became the overwhelmingly of culture altering wireless appli- multiplexing is synonymous with fessor Emeritus. tion and interference or jamming. pervasive multiple access application cations, including broadcasting parallel-to-serial conversion. His principal research contri- If the enemy does not know the of the 1990’s with approximately (both audio and video) and ra- TDMA, on the other hand, was bution, the Viterbi Algorithm, is communicator’s code, the latter’s 400 million subscribers today and dar. An even greater cultural used beginning in the 1960’s for used in most digital cellular signal will appear merely as noise. possibly over a billion by the end change is occurring through geosynchronous satellite networks phones and digital satellite re- More significantly, if the enemy tries of the decade. The industry moved wireless voice and data commu- of small numbers of large antenna ceivers, as well as in such to jam the transmission with any from analog modulation in the nication from and to virtually earth stations. diverse fields as magnetic re- form of radio signal, the intended 1980’s to digital modulation in the anywhere at any time. The key to Code division multiple access cording, speech recognition and friendly receiver’s demodulator in 1990’s and now employs voice unlocking these benefits is the (CDMA) has a far different pedi- DNA sequence analysis. In re- the process of decoding the desired compression and advanced modu- implementation of efficient gree, also dating back to the 1950’s. cent years he has concentrated signal will transform the hostile sig- lation and coding techniques to means for multiple access by nu- As its name implies, users’ signals his efforts on establishing nal into a spread spectrum form serve more subscribers per base merous simultaneous users and are isolated not by separate time CDMA as the multiple access approximating wideband noise. station in the allotted frequency the provision of multiple services or frequency slots, which are oc- technology of choice for cellu- The effect is to reduce the hostile spectrum. Though the early impe- to a population with diverse re- cupied in common by all users, but lar telephony and wireless data jammer’s effectiveness by a factor tus from the European cellular quirements and resources. rather by unique underlying codes, communication. known as the “processing gain” or telephony standard of the 1980’s The origins of multiple access which when decoded restore the “spreading factor” which is the ra- was toward a hybrid TDMA/FDMA date back to Patent No. 7777 original desired signal while (ide- tio of the code rate to the original approach known as GSM, the es- awarded in 1900 to Marconi for ally) totally removing the effect of shifted replicas of each user’s trans- source’s bit rate (100 for the ex- tablishment of a CDMA standard the “Tuned Circuit” which was the the other users’ coded signals. For mitted signal and code. Thus for ample just given). Essentially, in 1993 has helped make CDMA enabling technology for both Fre- this ideal case the codes must be CDMA, users’ codes are generally spread spectrum or CDMA is the the most rapidly growing technol- quency Division Multiplexing time-synchronized and orthogo- chosen to be non-repetitive over a “best” signaling modulation for ogy, already serving over a quarter (FDM) and Frequency Division nal, meaning that any two users’ very long period, which does not even the “worst” form of jamming of the digital cellular population. Multiple Access (FDMA). (FDM re- codes must differ in half their sym- guarantee orthogonality over the signal. (This is sometimes called the Its technical advantages are par- fers to transmission of multiple bols and agree in the other half. shorter period of each user’s trans- mini-max solution of a game be- ticularly important as the number sources from a single location by This synchronization in time is mission, but does ensure a small tween communicator and jammer.) of users served by a base station modulating each on a separate easily achieved for code division effect on the demodulators of other This historical military increases and hence suppressing carrier sufficiently separated from multiplexing, where all sources users. application, took on added the effects of multipath, avoiding the other, while in FDMA the destined for all users are transmit- An important side effect of code importance with the proliferation interference between users, and sources and their respective ted from the same location, such division is that each user’s transmit- of military geosynchronous performing soft handover between modulated carriers emanate from as a base station. For multiple ac- ted bandwidth is greatly enlarged communication satellites in the base stations become ever more different transmitters, generally cess, on the other hand, time by making the coded signal’s sym- 1970’s and 1980’s, which are critical. And as bandwidth effi- not co-located.) FDM and FDMA synchronization is generally not bol rate, or clock, run much faster particularly vulnerable to jamming ciency needed for high-speed are the only multiplexing and practical since users are separated than the digital data rate of the from almost anywhere. The first access to the Web becomes essen- multiple access techniques, that by distances which change with source. For example, if the data rate commercial applications of CDMA tial in third-generation wireless can be used with both analog and motion. Additionally, multiple is 10K bits/sec, the code clock sym- were also in transmissions to systems, CDMA is expected to be- digital transmission. paths may produce different time bol rate may be 1Mbit/sec or 100 communication satellites because come the global standard.
Powers of Ten: Astronomy’s Greatest Hits Physics Planning Committee Meets in Washington DC Compiled by Virginia Trimble Editor’s Note: Owing to the huge (Bunsen & Kirchhof, spectroscopy, moons of Jupiter; Bradley, 1729, response generated by prior “Top Ten” 1858). aberration of starlight. Also requires lists published in APS News, we offer 2. Eclipses and some periodic com- Earth to move and stellar distances the following list of great discoveries ets are predictable. (Halley 1695/ at least 105 times the solar distance). in astronomy. As always, readers are 1758, eclipses, 1715; Neptune was 7. Continued expansion of our ideas welcome — nay, encouraged — to also predicted and discovered in about the size of the universe. take issue with the rankings, omis- 1844). • Sun at 1079 Earth radii; stars ten sions, erroneous inclusions, and the 3. We are not at the center of times as far (Greeks to Kepler) like. We also encourage those in other • the solar system (Copernicus • Parallax of Mars; Sun more than fields to compile their own “Powers of 1500/1543) 50,000,000 miles away (Cassini, Ten” lists for possible future publica- • the galaxy (Shapley, 1920) Flamsteed, 1672) 4
tion, modeled on the format below. • the universe (Digges, 1500 for in- • Stars at least 10 times further Ken Cole/APS finite universe; Einstein 1915 for (Huygens, Gregory, Newton, 1650- The PPC met on September 7 to discuss the APS role in supporting science and Top Ten Astronomical finite universe). 1700) Triumphs of the Last math education. Seated clockwise around the table (some partially obscured) 4. There exist • Measurement of stellar parallaxes; are: James Langer, Robert Richardson, Janice Sunley (NSF), Judy Franz, Burton Millennium • other galaxies (Hubble, 1924) all stars at least 2 x 105 x solar dis- Richter, Ken Haas, Lee Ridinger, Francis Slakey, Beverly Hartline, Jerry 1. Celestial objects are: • other solar systems (Mayor/ tance (Struve, Bessell, Henderson, Friedman, Ken Heller, George Trilling, Gerry Yonas, Mike Lubell. • NOT immutable (Tycho’s super- Queloz/Marcy/Butler, 1995+) 1838) nova of 1572 and comet of 1577 • other universes (Steinhardt, • Distances to other galaxies from not in atmosphere) Linde, Guth, Hawking, Hartle, Rees, 105 to 106 parsecs (Hubble, using evolution (HN Russell, 1910) one place to another. Chinese as- • NOT perfect (mountains on the etc., 1990s). Shapley scale) • Stars run on nuclear energy tronomy, Mayan astronomy, and Arabic moon, Galileo 1610; sunspots, 5. The universe is expanding • Extragalactic distance scale ex- (Eddington to Bethe) astronomy all once outranked Europe. Harriot, 1610) (Hubble 1929 and eventual elimina- pands by a factor of between 5 and • Star formation is real, ongoing Recent history has seen the gradual mi- • NOT marching to a different tion of tired light alternative) and 10 (Walter Baade, Allan Sandage, process (Spitzer, Schwarzschild et al., gration of the largest population of drummer (apples and the moon, went through a hot dense phase 10- and others, 1952-1999). 1940s) astronomers and journals from Ger- Newton 1687) 20 Gyr ago. (Gamov, Alpher, 8. Celestial objects are born and die, • Galaxy evolution can be calcu- many and England to the United States, • NOT fully inventoried (W. Herman, 1948; Ryle & Scheuer and must have energy sources. lated (Tinsley 1967) and from there, who knows? Herschel discovery of Uranus, 1955; Penzias & Wilson, 1965). • Conservation of energy (Kelvin, • Galaxy formation can be ob- 10. Multiplication of wavebands and 1781) 6. Light moves at finite speed. Helmholtz and others, 1850s) served (everybody, 1990s). tools beyond wildest dreams. (And • NOT made of anything funny (Roemer, 1675, eclipses of the • Giant-and-dwarf theory of stellar 9. Leadership in science can move from See ASTRONOMY on page 7 4 October 2000 NEWS LETTERS
How Much Energy in an Ounce? Albert Bartlett’s letter in the June burned slowly in air vs allowed to Copernicus and the Scientific Impulse APS News corrects an estimate of detonate. In any event, the energy Owen Gingerich is not the Copernicus also cites several When asked why he placed the the “energy in an ounce” from “85 in an ounce would be exactly equal first historian of astronomy to ancient authors who assigned nucleus stationary at the center million tons” to “607 thousand to the energy of an ounce, not the downplay the role of observa- one or more motions to the and the electrons orbiting the tons” of TNT. energy of xxx tons! You know what tional evidence in the inception Earth. Moreover, there is a pas- nucleus and not the other way However, the energy released I mean? of the heliocentric model and sage in the extant manuscript of around, Rutherford is said to from even one ton of trinitrotolu- John Michael Williams instead elevate the role of what De Revolutionibus which mentions have replied: For the same rea- ene is quite a bit greater when it is Redwood City, California he calls ‘the Aesthetic Impulse’ Aristarchus of Samos (third century son why we consider the (“Copernicus and the Aesthetic BC). Although this passage was not elephant to be stationary and Whose Famous Constant? Impulse,” APS News, July 2000, printed in the first published ver- the fleas jumping up and down A common misunderstanding of stant is introduced for the first time THE BACK PAGE). There are sion of De Revolutionibus in 1543, on him — and not the other the history of “Newton’s” universal only near the end of the Nineteenth similar sentiments expressed it is reproduced in some of the way around. gravitational constant is repeated in Century. Cavendish referred to his in Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Co- modern editions of the great book. In The Copernican Revolution, the July issue of APS News. New- own work as “Experiments to De- pernican Revolution: Planetary Although Aristarchus’s work on Thomas S. Kuhn stated: “the ton did not use a constant in termine the Density of the Earth.” Astronomy in the Development of the heliocentric model has been Greeks produced (no) evidence expressing the universal law of Clotfelter points out that there was Western Thought (Harvard Univ lost, it is unambiguously men- for the earth’s motion.” (p. 43) I gravitation; he expressed it verbally no unit for force until the dyne was Pr, 1957), and also in Arthur tioned in several other surviving submit that the known work of in terms of direct and inverse proposed in 1873, and that “...the Koestler’s The Sleepwalkers: A books from antiquity, notably one Aristarchus (discussed by Kuhn proportionalities. In an interesting idea of measuring such a constant History of Man’s Changing Vision by Aristarchus’s contemporary at some length) IS evidence, al- review of the history of “Big G” (as G) is less likely to occur to an of the Universe (Hutchison, Archimedes of Syracuse. beit indirect and inconclusive, titled, “The Cavendish experiment experimenter when no unit for 1959). I have always felt uneasy What is more interesting is that for the earth’s motion. as Cavendish knew it” (Am. J. force is available.” with this attitude, for these rea- the only surviving book by My reading of Copernicus’s Phys. v. 55, p. 210 [1987]), B. E. David Gavenda sons: Aristarchus is entitled (very signifi- writings suggests to me that he Clotfelter points out that this con- University of Texas at Austin It is indeed legitimate to ar- cantly) On the Sizes and Distances wanted to replace the basically gue, as Owen Gingerich does, (from the Earth) of the Sun and Moon. (as he obviously believed) un- that “Copernicus relied on In this book, Aristarchus describes true geocentric model with the Advice Given to Budding Chemical Engineer aesthetic principles, ideas certain measurements that he car- essentially true heliocentric pleasing to the mind.” How- ried out himself (one of which is model. Copernicus hinted The July issue of APS News in- solve complex and fascinating ever, it is also justifiable to argue inaccurate). Aristarchus then went that a soundly composed he- cluded a question from a parent problems. One useful source of in- that Copernicus also relied on on to do the correct mathematical liocentric model would whose son has taken the AP Phys- formation for young people observational evidence, and fur- analysis and computations from make more accurate predic- ics exam and is interested in a interested in chemical engineering ther, on the epistemological which he derived values for the tions and a better calendar career in chemical engineering. is a website hosted by the Ameri- inferences derived from them. four quantities mentioned in the than those derived from the As an APS member with a degree can Institute of Chemical Engineers In his life work De title. Whereas Aristarchus’s two val- existing geocentric model. It in physics who now works in a (http://www.aiche.org/careers). Revolutionibus (1543), ues for the Moon are impressively was these justifiable beliefs chemical engineering depart- Many other disciplines also of- Copernicus made the fol- accurate, his two values for the Sun and expectations that moti- ment, I can only suggest to Mr. fer intellectually challenging lowing relevant points: “The are out by a factor of about 20 — vated Copernicus to go into all Levitt that chemical engineering career options, but I can think Earth is impregnated by the owing to the inaccuracy of one the trouble to construct a de- is an excellent discipline for a sci- of no reason why Mr. Levitt Sun and generates offspring ev- measured quantity. This resulted in tailed new model of the entifically curious young person should discourage his son from ery year;” and more pertinently, a solar system about 20 times universe. It took much more to consider. The best chemical exploring a career in chemical the (brilliant and resplendent) smaller than true. These became time and work by others, but engineers regularly use their fun- engineering. Sun is “named by some the lan- the accepted values until the 17th Copernicus's beliefs and expec- damental understanding of the David Sholl tern of the universe,” and by century, as confirmed by Owen tations were fulfilled in the end. physical world based on physics, Carnegie Mellon University, others the “visible god,” “king of Gingerich when he remarked that In conclusion, I would say chemistry, and mathematics to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the sky,” “pilot of the world,” “unknown to Tycho Brahe, the so- that Copernicus was more of a ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ “overseer of everything,” etc. lar system was 20 times larger than modern scientist than Thomas I suppose I am in a unique po- • Above all, if you have an abid- (Now what is this, if not (almost he or anyone else imagined.” S. Kuhn, Arthur Koestler, and sition to offer advice in that I ing passion about some subject, literally blinding) observational Nevertheless, Aristarchus’s work Owen Gingerich have portrayed started as an Engineering major find a way to pursue it. evidence?) It is from these (quite still resulted in a Sun that was him. Moreover, what seems to (Electrical) but switched to Phys- • But remember, even with pas- enlightening) remarks that nearly seven times larger than the have motivated Copernicus ics after my first college Physics sion, life gets grim unless you can Copernicus went on to deduce Earth in terms of radius, and (and also Aristarchus, Galileo, course. And I worked with many make a comfortable living. that “the center of the universe about 300 times larger than the Kepler, etc.) was the ‘Scientific Chemical Engineers during my • Keep an eye out for interest- is the natural point where to Earth in terms of volume. There Impulse.’ career as a Polymer Physicist with ing opportunities. No one can place the Sun so as to best illu- is a suggestive anecdote about Theo Theocharis DuPont. However, the most im- predict what doors will be open minate the cosmos.” Rutherford’s model of the atom. London, England portant advice I can give would to them in the future. be general advice I would give • One other point, there are very any parent with a child at this few jobs with no satisfaction and Whose Famous Formula? stage of life. none without some sort of To Mr. Levitt: drudgery. In APS News, August/September M. Henri Becquerel show that this in proper perspective, we offer a • Don’t sweat the decision. No 2000, the “This Month in Physics energy is of the order of one ten- quote from the book “Inward matter what the choice now, it is Specifically addressing Chemical History” column was entitled “Sep- millionth of a watt per second. Bound” by the late physicist and likely to change. Engineering: tember 1905: Einstein’s Most Hence a loss of weight of about a historian of physics Abraham Pais: • Encourage your son to get ad- • We will continue to need Famous Formula,” and it stated: milligram in a thousand million “...the strength of (Einstein’s equa- vice from a broad cross section products made with chemical “But it was later that year (1905), years would suffice to account for tions relating mass, energy and of people (but my experience processes. I would expect de- in a paper received by the Annalen the observed effects, assuming the velocity) lies in their generality, with high school guidance coun- mand to remain strong for der Physik on September 27, ap- energy of the radiation to be de- their independence of dynamical selors has not been good). Chemical Engineers and the plying his equations to study the rived from the actual loss of details, in particular their indepen- • Most importantly, remember salary is usually quite good. motion of a body, that Einstein material.” dence of the origin and nature of that it is your son’s career and the • A wide variety of jobs are open showed that mass and energy were The assumption that accounts the mass m. For specific forms of decision must ultimately be his. including “hands on” design of equivalent, a startling new insight for the stated figures in the April energy the relation To the son: plants and equipment, design he expressed in a simple formula 1900 issue of Nature is E=mc2. But E—>mc2 as v—>0 • Pick something and begin to fo- and operation of systems to con- that became synonymous with his according to APS News, this is had been known well before 1905. cus on that. A good place to start is trol the manufacturing process & name: E=mc2. However, full con- “Einstein’s most famous formula” Already in 1881, J.J. Thomson (see with one of the career exploration basic research in a wide range of firmation of his theory was slow which in September 1905 was “a this month’s This Month in Phys- programs that let you “shadow” industries. in coming. It was not until 1933, startling new insight.” I think that ics History—ed.) had noted the professionals in several occupa- • It also offers an excellent en- in Paris, when Irene and Frederic there is a problem that ought to be energy-mass equivalence for the tions. It will give you a small taste try into management. Joliot-Curie took a photograph resolved. case of an electrically charged body. of some of the possibilities. On the other hand, I was showing the conversion of energy Caroline H. Thompson Shortly thereafter, the first theoreti- • Until you learn more, keep an able to solve a number of long into mass.” Aberaeron, United Kingdom cal E-m-v relations appeared, based open mind. College opens new term problems at DuPont be- In contrast, the “100 YEARS on a specific model of a charged vistas for most students. Chances cause my Physics training gave AGO” item in the 6 April 2000 is- APS News replies: particle: its shape shall be a rigid are that you will change no mat- me a different perspective and sue of Nature (Vol. 404, p 553) is The author is quite correct that little sphere, whatever its velocity. ter what you choose. different tools to work with. taken from the 5 April 1900 is- specific instances of the relation This was the model studied in great • Take a broad range of courses Farren H. Smith sue of Nature (note the dates), between mass and energy predated detail by Max Abraham, theorist in in college. Camden, South Carolina and it states: “The calculations of Einstein’s work in 1905. To put this Goettingen.” NEWS October 2000 5
VIEWPOINT… So Near Yet So Far
On August 24th, the presiden- So You Want to be a Critic tial campaign of Democratic by Dean E. Abrahamson candidate Al Gore came within about a mile of APS A number of my students and discussions are taking place may re- quickly results in the erosion of headquarters in College Park, former students have asked me spond favorably, the critic will be such credibility. MD. Speaking at the Univer- how established interests react to a given what he or she considers to • Understand your own mo- sity of Maryland, Gore con- scientific critic of their ideas and be a fair hearing, and that will more tives, purposes and goals: centrated on educational is- objectives, or what they should do or less be the end of it. understand what you want, and sues. Neither Gore nor his Republican counterpart if they aspire to be effective critics. 5. An attempt to co-opt the why you want it. Also try to un- George W. Bush has featured A critic is defined as one who pub- critic is made. This is often the next derstand your opponents’ science policy as an issue in licly expresses disagreement with step in cases where a fair hearing is assumptions, arguments, evidence the campaign.
established policy or dogma. The granted. The critic will be thanked and goals as well as you understand Jessica Clark/APS following is based on lessons for bringing attention to the issue your own. learned from my 30 years of per- at hand, and may be asked to serve • Cultivate the press. Under- sonal experience doing public on a high-level advisory commit- stand the press, Never mislead the education work regarding atomic tee, admonished as a result to defer press. The critic’s objectives should energy. any more public activities until the include being the first person called First and foremost, a critic must committee’s work is done. Such by the press for comment or expla- be prepared for attempts to be dis- committees are rarely taken seri- nations. It is also best for the novice credited, intimidated, co-opted, ously, or they have a lifetime critic to avoid TV reporters unless and/or fired. Attempts to discredit exceeding the schedule for the he or she knows that they and their are a routine part of the agenda for events of interest. Novice critics editors know the difference be- a critic, whether the issue relates to often take this bait. tween a scientific or policy atomic energy, drug or tobacco test- 6. The critic persists and does disagreement and a train wreck. ing, science policy, etc. The usual not succumb to co-option. The • Acquire some friends but steps in this process are as follows: fourth response is usually to avoid the zealots and crackpots 1. The critic appears. The first threaten the critic’s well-being: to who, unfortunately, are found in all response is to ignore the critic, hop- get him or her fired, or cut fund- camps in serious policy debates. ing he or she will go away. ing, bring a lawsuit, exert pressure • Never assume that a con- 2. The critic persists. The sec- on public officials at his or her insti- spiracy is underway. This is not to ond response is for representatives tution, etc. The discrediting can say that there are no conspiracies,
of the established interest to allege occasionally involve more personal but making such an assumption for APS News ©2000 Paul Dlugokencky (www.aDailyCartoon.com) that the critic is not an expert. efforts: investigations into the critic’s without overwhelming evidence These allegations can, by them- personal life looking for scandal, or will not only detract from your selves, compromise the critic’s alleging the critic is only interested credibility, but also will lead you employment and reputation. It is in personal fame or financial gain. down hopeless rabbit trails. zero much more difficult to sustain a Above all, effective criticship re- • Beware of strangers bearing gravity claim of incompetence when the quires discipline and is in many gifts. Be particularly wary of copies critic comes from within the estab- ways an art form. I offer the follow- of supposedly sensitive documents lishment that is the subject of ing helpful hints to aid aspiring that are delivered anonymously. An Alternative Theory for attention. In this case, the critic critics in avoiding typical beginners’ • Be scrupulous about your Perpetual Motion becomes a whistle blower. pitfalls: taxes and other financial affairs. A 3. The critic must demonstrate • Make no errors, particularly critic’s tax returns and credit record We at APS News are continually the carpet. Chicken Tikka Masala, expertise to prove his credibility. technical errors. Spokespersons for will be examined carefully. entertained and enlightened by the for example, has a very high s value, This can be done by convincing ex- and employees of established inter- • Assume that all telephone, various and sundry tidbits we find while the s value of water is zero. perienced members of the written ests will be protected by their email and other such communica- floating in the ether of the Internet, t(c) and t(t) indicate the tone of the press, by withstanding cross-ex- institutions unless they demon- tions are being monitored. They especially when we discover heretofore carpet and topping - the value of p amination at a hearing or in a court, strate a truly extraordinary often will be. unsuspected scientific theories. An un- being strongly related to the rela- or by publishing and meeting the degree of incompetence or men- • Remember that so-called named British magazine supposedly tionship between the color of the tests of refereed journals. dacity. But the critic stands alone, scientific or technical experts have held a competition recently, inviting carpet and topping, as even 4. The critic is allowed a fair protected only by his or her cred- no qualifications beyond those of any its readers to submit new scientific chicken tikka masala won’t cause a hearing. The forum in which the ibility. The demonstration of error See VIEWPOINT on page 7 theories on ANY subject. Below is the permanent and obvious stain if the winner, on the subject of perpetual carpet is the same color. motion: So it is obvious that the prob- Nikitin Slams Russian Nuclear Waste When a cat is dropped, it always ability of carpet impact is maximized lands on its feet, and when toast is if you use chicken tikka masala and The radioactive fuel contained in and the reactor itself is leaky and dropped, it always lands buttered a white carpet - in fact this combi- the submarine Kursk that sank in pollutes the environment. He side down. Therefore, if a slice of nation gives a “p” value of one, which the Barents Sea on August 12 is a recommends that on-site storage toast is strapped to a cat’s back, is the same as the probability of a cat tiny problem compared to the se- facilities be built until more permanent buttered side up, and the animal is landing on its feet. vere environmental threat to the disposal alternatives can be found. then dropped, the two opposing Therefore a cat with chicken Russian north posed by the 60 tons On the other hand, Nikitin is forces will cause it to hover, spin- tikka masala on its back will be cer- of spent nuclear fuel that has been spearheading a campaign, both in ning inches above the ground. If tain to hover in mid air, while there excreted by Russian naval vessels. Russia and abroad, to stymie efforts enough toast-laden felines were could be problems with buttered This point was made by environ- to turn Russia into the repository used, they could form the basis of toast as the toast may fall off the mental activist Aleksandr Nikitin in of nuclear waste from the rest of a high-speed monorail system. cat, causing a terrible monorail an address to the American Chemi- the world. He described the Rus- The magazine then got this letter crash resulting in nauseating im- cal Society at their meeting in sian leadership as thinking that in reply from one of the recipients ages of members of the royal family Washington in August. Nikitin has “Russia is a huge country, there is I’ve been thinking about this cat/ visiting accident victims in hospi- been persecuted for his activities in plenty of room to store nuclear Alan Chodos/APS toast business for a while. In the tal, and politicians saying it his native Russia and tried for trea- waste without affecting the popula- Environmental activist Aleksandr Nikitin. buttered toast case, it’s the butter wouldn’t have happened if their son. He was acquitted in December tion,” and he appealed to both the month, some leakage of radiation that causes it to land buttered side party was in power as there would of last year by a St. Petersburg US government and the American could occur. This puts him at odds down - it doesn’t have to be toast, have been more investment in cat- court, after intense international scientific community to reject any of- with American expert Andrew the theory works equally well with toast glue research. protest, including an open letter on fer to send nuclear waste to Russia. Karam of the University of Roch- Jacob’s crackers. So to save money It is in the interests not only of his behalf written by then APS Presi- Calling on his 23 years’ experi- ester, who has been quoted in the you just miss out the toast - and public safety but also public sanity dent Jerome I. Friedman in ence in the Russian navy, including press as saying that there is no dan- butter the cats. Also, should there if the buttered toast on cats idea is November, 1999. His case was ap- 11 years on submarines, Nikitin ger of radioactive leakage from the be an imbalance between the effects scrapped, to be replaced by a pealed by the prosecution to the full hypothesized that the Kursk sank Kursk into the indefinite future. of cat and butter, there are other monorail powered by cats smeared Presidium of the Russian Supreme because of human error in navigat- When asked why the Russians substances that have a stronger af- with chicken tikka masala floating Court, but the appeal was denied on ing in relatively shallow waters. He did not ask sooner for international finity for carpet. above a rail made from white shag September 13, thereby probably believes the craft collided with the help in reaching the trapped sub, Probability of carpet impact is pile carpet. bringing his prosecution to an end. seabed, which caused one or more Nikitin said “You have to under- determined by the following simple Net myth, or genuine magazine The Russian solution to the spent of the torpedoes aboard to explode. stand the mentality of the Russian formula: p = s * t(t)/t(c) where p is contest? We would be most interested fuel problem is to transport it by In his estimation, this led to the military. The admirals care only the probability of carpet impact, to hear from any of our readers as to train to the reactor at Mayak for breach of two of the four contain- about their shoulder boards and and s is the “stain” value of the the origin of this tantalizing theory, as reprocessing, a procedure Nikitin ment levels for the nuclear fuel, and their cushy positions. They did not toast-covering substance - an indi- well as whether its proponents have regards as unacceptable because the he thinks that once the third level dare tell Putin that they couldn’t do cator of the effectiveness of the toast managed to snag from NSF funding transportation is slow and dangerous is breached by seawater, in about a the job themselves.” topping in permanently staining to pursue their research. 6 October 2000 NEWS U.S. Team Makes Strong Showing at 2000 International Physics Olympiad The five members of the 2000 where he is president of both the math University of Maryland, who admin- U.S. Physics Olympiad team re- and science clubs. In addition to being istered a “Physics IQ test” to the team turned from this year’s competition highly active in various physics and as part of his lecture. in Leicester, England, carrying one math competitions, he plays the piano One highlight of this year’s train- silver and four bronze medals. The and enjoys playing basketball and ing camp was a special tour of competition brings together the top bridge in his spare time. Bronze med- Washington, offering the students physics students from 62 countries. alist Jason Oh will be attending CalTech the rare opportunity to give national The 300 participating high school this fall, studying both physics and science and education leaders insight students battled to solve physics mathematics. into the U.S. educational system. problems their own teachers might This competition is “a showcase Activities included a special break- have had trouble with; nevertheless, for the best and brightest in the fast with several members of Team USA made a strong showing. world,” says Dr. Bernard Khoury, Congress, hosted by Vernon Ehlers
Gregory Price from Falls Church, Photo courtesy of AIP American Association of Physics (R-Mich.) and Rush Holt (D-NJ), Virginia, was the top U.S. scorer, both PhD physicists, to enable stu- Physics Olympiad students doing lab work at University of Maryland training camp. Teachers (AAPT) Executive Director. placing 16th overall, and winning a AAPT hosts the students while they dents to interact with their silver medal. Anthony Miller from course. He drew on his long-stand- year since he was a freshman. A Na- attend the U.S. Physics Training government leaders. Afterwards, Hopewell, New Jersey, Michael Vrable ing fascination with science and tional Merit finalist, he also takes Camp, which prepares them for the they met with Presidential Science from Del Mar, California, Jason Oh innate mathematical ability — he is a math and computer science classes rigorous International Olympiad. Advisor Neal Lane, Secretary of Edu- from Cockeysville, Maryland, and Jo- member of his school’s math team and at the University of California, San During the camp, team members cation Richard Riley, Arthur seph Yu from Irvine, California, all spends several hours a week honing Diego, and plans to attend Harvey listen to guest lecturers and partici- Bienenstock, Associate Director for received bronze medals. The United his problem-solving skills — along Mudd College next year. He says his pate in a grueling five-hour practice Science, Office of Science and Tech- States team finished seventh overall, with an old college physics textbook, favorite event was called “Mission exam, designed to simulate the rig- nology Policy, and Duncan Moore, with China, Russia and India taking to solve assigned problems. In addi- Possible,” with the objective of build- orous testing that the team will Associate Director for Technology, the top three spots respectively. The tion to the Physics Olympiad, Price ing “a Rube-Goldberg-like machine.” endure in international competition. OSTP. The U.S. team members also U.S. was also one of only five coun- took first place among high school Miller, who attends Hopewell Valley Based on this, the final team mem- met with staff members at the Na- tries (China, Russia, Hungary and sophomores in the largest math com- CHS, gained valuable problem-solv- bers are selected. This year’s guest tional Science Foundation, who Iran being the other four) that had petition in the U.S., and placed second ing experience in physics during a lecturers included Charles Bennett, discovered that most of the students all five team members win medals. among his peers in a major national summer internship at Princeton an IBM Fellow who specializes in developed their interest in physics Price, a sophomore at Thomas computing contest. Plasma Physics Laboratory in 1997, quantum computing, a discipline during their middle school years or Jefferson High School for Science Among the bronze medalists, where he worked on the develop- which aims to recast and enlarge our later, often encouraged by parents or and Technology, won his silver medal Vrable is a senior at Torrey Pines High ment of a residual gas analyzer system notions of information in light of by teachers who used innovative and 16th place ranking despite hav- School, and has represented his for the lab’s new NSTX reactor. Joseph quantum physics and put them to teaching methods and allowed ing never taken a formal physics school in science olympiads every Yu is a senior at University High School, practical use, and Dick Berg of the hands-on work. APS Co-Sponsors Summer Industrial Internship with IBM/Almaden It is a generally acknowledged under-represented groups con- and similar programs are being de- Jones finds the mix indicative of interests as possible. “So far we’ve truth that one of the key junctures tinuing their studies in science and veloped for Hispanic and Native “the interdisciplinary nature of been able to make very good of a potential scientist’s career is his engineering fields, according to Bar- American engineering majors, as physics today, as well as the range matches, since IBM/Almaden is or her undergraduate experience, bara Jones, an IBM researcher who well as women in computer science. of people who belong to the APS.” such a diverse workplace and we and that women and under-repre- is also a member of the APS Com- The IBM/APS summer internship is Of these, IBM selected four win- can easily encompass most of (the sented minorities often choose to mittee on the Status of Women in specifically targeted to women un- ners, who spent this past summer applicants’) fields,” says Jones. For leave technical fields such as phys- Physics (CSWP). To that end, IBM dergraduate students majoring in at the company. In addition, one example, Anelia Delcheva, a phys- ics or chemistry if that experience decided to fund a group of intern- physics, chemistry, materials science, of last year’s winners deferred her ics major at Clark University, is negative or discouraging. A new ships among various disadvantaged or computer science who are com- internship until this summer, while worked with a group of IBM Fel- summer internship program co- groups, and co-sponsored with pleting their sophomore or junior the other winner from last year has lows on a magnetism project, while sponsored by the APS and IBM/ specific professional organizations year. Those selected receive a grant returned for a second internship Amy Lytle, a physics major from the Almaden seeks to assist top students in order to focus the advertising of $2500, as well as a salaried re- through NSF’s Research Experience College of Wooster, worked with an in under-represented groups at this and applicant pool. It was decided search internship at the IBM/ for Undergraduates program. “In a optics and lithography research key period, in hopes of persuading to focus such programs on under- Almaden laboratory in San Jose, sense we have six women working group. The other two interns — them to make science a career. graduates in their sophomore and California. with us this summer related to this Andrea Voss, a chemistry major The idea for a summer intern- junior years, before they make their This year the program received program,” says Jones. “So it’s al- from Seattle University, and Shirley ship program at IBM/Almaden decisions about graduate school. 116 applications, nearly half of ready a huge success.” Ni, a computer science major from came about because many re- The first such program was for which were from students study- Once selected, interns are as- the University of California, Los searchers at the company were black undergraduates, and is oper- ing physics, with 10% in computer signed to a research group or Angeles — are also working with concerned about the low num- ated in conjunction with the science and the remainder in engi- specific project as closely tailored research groups closely matched to ber of young people from National Society of Black Engineers, neering and other applied fields. to their experience and research their interests.
OPA Summer Intern Gains Valuable Hill Experience Committee on Committees Meets at APS Most college students savor the Drawing on her enthusiasm for studies in physics, she found her- luxury of summer break after gru- climbing, she took a job as market- self becoming equally interested in eling academic schedules, ing director of a small start-up how the scientific community inter- preferring sun, sand and surf to company in 1989, which eventu- faces with government. “I thought serious study. But University of ally became Black Diamond the internship with the Washington Utah physics major Maria Cranor Equipment, Ltd., one of the world’s office would offer a fantastic oppor- chose to spend the summer work- top manufacturers of rock and tunity to observe these interactions ing in the APS Office of Public Affairs mountaineering equipment. at close hand,” she says of her rea- (OPA) in Washington, DC, as a sum- However, her career in market- sons for applying for the position. mer intern. OPA established the ing eventually began to pall, and “There is no substitute for seeing internship three years ago to provide Cranor returned to college to de- government in action. Getting to physics undergraduates with first- velop another career path, enrolling attend hearings on the Hill was very hand experience in science policy to at the University of Utah in 1996. exciting and thought-provoking.” Alicia Chang/APS complement their studies in an era She initially intended to become a During her tenure in the Wash- The Committee on Committees met at APS headquarters on August 25. Its task is when scientific research is increas- developmental psychologist, but an ington office, Cranor worked on a to recommend members for many of the APS standing committees. Taking part in ingly reliant on federal funding. introductory physics course ignited broad range of issues, including glo- the deliberations are, left to right: front row, Michael Turner, David Aspnes, Rick Cranor did her original college her enthusiasm for the subject. bal warming, the federal budget for Heller. Back row, Gloria Lubkin, Danita Boonchaisri, Zachary Fisk, Myriam work at the University of California, “Physics has completely seized my science, and national missile de- Sarachik, Judy Franz. Berkeley, studying anthropology and imagination,” she says, admitting fense (NMD). She found the latter African pre-history under Glyn Isaac that she is an unlikely physics stu- work especially meaningful. “It’s a (PGNet) volunteers on science fund- in physics and psychology. “My and J.D. Clark, two of the leading dent. “My mathematical background serious issue of national, even glo- ing matters, and relished the plans now are to resume studying archaeologists of the 1970s. She then was nonexistent and I’d had no real bal importance that has opportunity to collaborate with APS like a maniac,” she says, and is con- spent several years away from exposure to scientific thinking.” tremendous political ramifications, Director of Public Affairs Bob Park templating attending graduate academia, becoming an avid rock She credits her teachers in Utah’s and physicists are making a signifi- on his weekly electronic newsletter, school in astrophysics. “The APS climber and traveling all over the physics department with helping cant contribution to the debate,” “What’s New,” which gave her the internship helped me to realize that world. She even helped found a na- her overcome these challenges. she says. “It was wonderful to be opportunity to put her written skills my combination of two seemingly tional climbing advocacy and Cranor’s undergraduate days at involved in such a critical issue.” to good use. disparate sets of skills — market- resource conservation group in Berkeley sparked a strong interest She also enjoyed working with Cranor has since returned to ing and physics — might be 1989, called the Access Fund. in politics, and as she pursued her Physics and Government Network Utah to continue her dual degree tremendously useful in the future.” NEWS October 2000 7 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Now Appearing in RMP... The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Wants You! The articles in the October 2000 issue of Reviews of Modern Physics are listed below. For brief descriptions of each article, con- The Pew National Fellowship Program for Carnegie Scholars is an opportunity for faculty sult the RMP website at
VIEWPOINT, from page 5 ASTRONOMY, from page 3 other citizen to express opinions on Dean Abrahamson is a professor the universe does not look the same for the first time: the classic example predicted that these will turn out to policy or policy outcomes. A delicate emeritus at the University of Minne- through every window!) is steady state cosmology; another is have the same answer. balance between the roles of credible sota, and a visiting professor at the Russell’s giant and dwarf theory of 5. Theory of star formation. (Initial expert and advocate is difficult to strike. Institute of Physics and Technical Top Ten Drivers of stellar evolution. mass function, binary populations, etc). • It is helpful to have competent le- Physics, Chalmers Technical Univer- Discoveries in Astronomy 8. Revolutions in computation, 6. Chemical and dynamical evolu- gal counsel available from time to time. sity in Goteberg, Switzerland. The 1. Dry photographic plates (and on- Monroes to Microscoft. tion of galaxies will be freed from the • Finally, remember that if bitten above was adapted from an article ap- ward to CCDs). 9. International collaborations be- Curse of the Variable Parameter. when swimming with sharks, the pearing in the July 2000 issue of 2. Left-over World War II radar come the norm, from Carte du Ciel 7. Spectroscopy of extra-solar, earth- cardinal rule is, Do not bleed! Physics and SocietySociety. dishes, radar operators, and the to the International Astronomical mass planets reveal non-equilibrium beginning of radio astronomy. Union and beyond. chemistry (or not). 3. Captured V-2 rockets and the be- 10. Gradual erosion of the gentle- 8. Additional insights into pro- ginning of ultraviolet and X-ray manly agreement not to observe cesses under extreme conditions, INN BRIEFBRIEF astronomy. someone else’s star. including astrophysical masers, 4. “Invasions” by people from par- two-photon processes, induced ticle physics (1980s-1990s), nuclear Top Ten Predicted Hits of Raman scattering, Landau levels, APS Members Win Dirac Medal physics (1930s), chemistry and the 21st Century and astronomical dynamos. Three APS fellows have been named co-recipients of the Dirac other disciplines. Also, spectroscopy 1. Neutrino astronomy will find a 9. Something I haven’t thought of. Medal and Prize, established by the International Centre for Theo- in the 19th century. third source and become routine. 10. Something even you haven’t retical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, in 1985 to recognize contributions 5. Massive relocation of skilled scien- 2. Extremely high energy cosmic rays thought of. to the field of theoretical physics. Helen Quinn of Stanford University tists before and after World War II. will reveal new kinds of physics or Virginia Trimble is a professor of and Howard Georgi of Harvard University were honored, along with 6. Admission of women to curios- new particles. physics/astronomy at University of Jogesh Pati of the University of Maryland, for “pioneering contribu- ity-driven research. (Payne and the 3. Gravitational radiation astronomy; California, Irvine, and visiting profes- tions to the quest for a unified theory of quarks and leptons, and of composition of stars; Tinsley and backgrounds and sources. sor of Astronomy at University of the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions.” quantitative evolution of galaxies). 4. What came before the Big Bang? Maryland, College Park. The above lists Georgi was recognized for his discovery of many of the most 7. Fruitful, although wrong, ideas How did large scale structure form? were compiled for a presentation at the APS significant models of grand unification, as well as his role in devel- from people approaching problems What is the dark matter? It is also April Meeting in Long Beach, California. oping the Georgi-Quinn-Weinberg computation demonstrating that the natural mass scale of unification is relatively close to the Planck scale, and that the proton lifetime can naturally be extremely long. DPF2000, from page 1 Quinn is recognized for her contributions to the same computa- tion, as well as her fundamental insights, working with Roberto If all the neutrino experiments are results at DPF2000. The BELLE ex- The second experiment is Babar, Peccei, about CP conservation by strong interactions. taken at face value, Scholberg said, periment, at the KEK facility in located at the Stanford Linear Ac- Pati is recognized for his role (with Salam) in the formulation of they present a puzzle: one can de- Japan, was described in a talk by celerator Center, a detector built by the original gauge theory with quark-lepton unification, and the duce from them three different Jorge Rodriguez of the University a collaboration of about 550 physi- resulting insight that baryon number violation is a likely conse- mass-squared differences for the of Hawaii. The experiment studies cists from nine countries. The quence of such unification. various neutrino families, but if the decay of B mesons, which are results were reported at DPF2000 Peebles Shares Gruber Foundation’s Cosmology there are only three families, there composed of one bottom quark and by Yury Kolomensky of Caltech. can be only two independent such one ordinary anti-quark, and their Prize Like the KEKB accelerator, the PEP- differences, and they do not agree antiparticles the B-bar mesons. If CP II accelerator at SLAC features P.J.E. Peebles, Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton Uni- with the data. One looks to several (which is a symmetry related to the asymmetric colliding beams, which versity, and a fellow of the APS, has been named co-recipient of the experiments in the next few years exchange of a particle with its anti- means that the B’s and B-bars are first annual Cosmology Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation “for his to help clarify the situation: the particle) is violated as inferred from moving down the beam pipe after profound contributions to our knowledge of the physical processes Sudbury Neutrino Observatory in the standard model, then, under cer- they are produced, allowing experi- that shaped the structure of our universe.” His citation continues, Canada (funded as well by the US tain circumstances, there should be menters to deduce the “Over more than three decades, (Peebles) has, with rigor and imagi- and the UK) together with other a difference in the time dependence time-dependence of the decays nation, advanced our understanding of phenomena which range from solar neutrino experiments, the of the decay of B and B-bar mesons from the positions of the decay ver- the creation of the lightest elements to the formation of galaxies and BooNE experiment at Fermilab into the same final state. Because tices. Like BELLE, Babar needs the cosmic distribution of matter and radiation.” To be awarded in which will test the LSND results, these are rare events the statistics more statistics to differentiate be- November at the Pontifical Academy of Science at the Vatican, the and a series of long baseline experi- in these early data are relatively tween the standard model and zero, Cosmology Prize was created to honor scientific advances in our ments, in Japan, the US and poor, and so far BELLE’s results are and they have plans to increase perception and understanding of the universe, and carries a cash Europe, which send beams of neu- consistent either with the standard- their data sample tenfold within the award of $150,000. Peebles shares the inaugural award with Allan trinos from an accelerator to a model prediction or with zero. next two years. As Kolomensky Sandage, of the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC, who is be- neutrino detector located many According to Rodriguez, a signifi- says, these precision measurements ing honored for his work on the respective values of the Hubble hundreds of miles away. cant improvement in statistical will test the standard model pre- Constant, the deceleration parameter and the age of the universe. Two experiments to measure accuracy is expected within the dictions and provide new insights CP violation parameters reported next couple of years. into the nature of CP violation. 8 October 2000 NEWS THE BACK PAGE DOE Office of Science, APS Membership Share Funding Goals by Mildred S. Dresselhaus As I start my term (August 1, 2000) as Director of the Office of Table 1: Department of Energy Science Science of the Department of En- Top Five Government Research Organizations for*: ergy (DOE), I see many opportunities, challenges, and re- Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Mathematics & Computing sponsibilities that I face together 1. Energy (2,012) 1. NASA (1,051) 1. DOD (657) with you, the research community 2. NASA (1, 019) 2. NSF (481) 2. Energy (623) of the physical sciences. The Ameri- 3. NSF (515) 3. DOD (383) 3. NSF (399) can Physical Society has already 4. DOD (412) 4. INTERIOR (364) 4. HHS (127) done a great deal to improve the 5. HHS (205) 5. Energy (335) 5. COMMERCE (89) health of the physical sciences, and Engineering Life Sciences R&D Facilities** they should be commended for 1. NASA (1,948) 1. HHS (11,838) 1. Energy (939) their valiant and thoughtful efforts. 2. DOD (1,837) 2. USDA (1,215) 2. NASA (403) Since the Office of Science, DOE is 3. Energy (851) 3. DOD (519) 3. DOD (386) Mildred S. Dresselhaus the largest federal funding source 4. NSF (484) 4. NSF (403) 4. NSF (271) of the physical sciences, I feel con- 5. TRANS (323) 5. Energy (288) 5. HHS (227) siderable responsibility in my new Office of Science also has been a position to work closely with the principal supporter of graduate stu- * Numbers are FY 1999 Dollars in Millions - Source: NSF — Preliminary Federal obligations for research, by agency and field of science American Physical Society to dents and postdoctoral researchers and engineering: fiscal year 1999 achieve a healthy physical science in early career. **Numbers are FY 1999 Dollars in Millions - Source: OMB enterprise in the United States for The last decade, however, has the benefit of its citizens. seen a serious erosion in federal Our Office of Basic Energy Sci- neutron scattering facilities, for de- Our advisory committees are devel- For several decades after World funding in the physical sciences ences is a major funding source for tailed studies of the structure and oping long range plans on the next War II, the United States was in a and the Office of Science; has been researchers in the Divisions of Con- properties of biological constitu- generation of user facilities, setting leadership position in virtually all especially hard hit (see Figure 2). densed Matter Physics, Materials ents. priorities for facility selection and fields in the physical sciences. This Under these circumstances, we are Physics; Atomic, Molecular and Our Office of Advanced Scien- timing, so that we will be able to benefited science because of the noticeably slipping in some all-im- Optical Physics, Polymer Physics tific Computing Research, which remain among the world leaders high level of activity and the high portant areas of the Physical and Chemical Physics, providing supports computational science and not fall behind in important quality of the research that was car- Sciences. We now need to turn support for research projects, for and simulations across all scientific areas of the physical sciences. ried out in the U.S. and because of these trends around before the con- staff, graduate students and subfields (and funds researchers in The Office of Science has a ma- our policy of welcoming the best sequences of this under-investment postdocs to work on these projects, the Division of Computational jor commitment to education and and the brightest worldwide to join become more damaging and wide- and for special facilities, such as the Physics), is now engaged in team- training through grants to small us in pursuing the scientific adven- spread. I will need the help of the Argonne Advanced Photon Source, ing computer science experts with research groups who support the ture of discovery. Our scientific APS and its membership in revers- the Brookhaven National Synchro- practitioners in these subfields to research and provide stipends for achievements went hand-in-hand ing this trend for the Office of tron Light Source, and many develop advanced computer codes many graduate students, postdocs with furthering and fueling the in- Science. others. Now under construction is for electronic structure, chemical and undergraduates. The DOE dustrial enterprise to the benefit of Let me briefly review how the the Spallation Neutron Source at reactivity, time resolved processes world class research facilities also our citizens and society worldwide. various offices within the Office of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. and many other challenging and attract many young (under 35 years According to a National Research Science map on to the APS Divi- When completed in 2006, this important problems. old) researchers as users. They re- report in 1993, the United States sions and their members. Our world class facility will restore a The squeeze on the Office of Sci- ceive much hands-on training from should be among the world lead- Office of High Energy and Nuclear leadership position to the US after ence budget and the demands the staff, and benefit from peers at ers in all important fields of science. Physics is the primary funding more than a decade of difficulty for coming from the construction and other institutions doing complemen- Such a leadership position allows source for researchers in the APS US researchers trying to work in operation of increasing numbers of tary research. Special programs for researchers working in the US to Divisions of Particles, Nuclear Phys- this research area. complex facilities have made it im- undergraduate hands-on research follow-up breakthroughs made ics, Physics of Beams, and also for The Office of Biological and En- possible to support the number of activities have provided an effective anywhere and on any topic. the facilities (Fermi Lab Tevatron, the vironmental Research provides excellent research groups we would source for new entrants into physi- Table 1 shows that the DOE Of- SLAC B-factory, the Brookhaven support to researchers in the Divi- like, and at a level consistent with cal science graduate programs, fice of Science, is the dominant Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and sion of Biological Physics among the “cost of living” increases associ- especially for underrepresented funder of physics research in the the Thomas Jefferson Lab CEBAF others. It is noteworthy that the ated with scientific research. Major women and minority undergradu- US and is also the dominant federal machine, among others) that are impetus to orchestrate the sequenc- new opportunities exist in the areas ates. These programs need to be funding source for large facilities, necessary to carry out experimental ing of the human genome came of nano-technology, computational maintained. such as synchrotron light sources, research in these fields. from the Office of Science. The next physical sciences and biophysics, To turn around the declining pulsed neutron sources, and particle Our Office of Fusion Energy Sci- thrust of this program, aimed at and we need to fund new initiatives Office of Science budgets of the last accelerators, as well as mid-sized ences funds the vast majority of identifying the functions of the in these areas. State-of-the-art fa- decade we need annual increases facilities such as sophisticated researchers in the Division of various genes will be dependent on cilities in nano-lithography, on the order of 15%. Budgetary in- transmission electron microscopes, Plasma Physics and provides them facilities operated by the Office of focussed ion beam technology, creases of this magnitude have state-of-the-art mass spectrometers with the sophisticated facilities Basic Energy Sciences, such as the clean room technology, and access strengthened the NIH over the past and ion beam facilities, etc. The needed for their research work. synchrotron light sources and the to high speed massively parallel decade and more recently the NSF. computers are among the resources Sustained increased funding that are needed by the university for the next few years is needed Figure 2: Office of Science Budget History* community, at affordable usage for the Office of Science to pro- charges and with adequate access vide our unique contribution to SSC times. Coordination of DOE pro- the team effort in interdiscipli- grams with complementary nary research and in the programs sponsored by other ma- development of important new
} jor funders in each subfield will be state-of-the art instruments and $3062 one of my responsibilities. user facilities. $2788 In the last decade, an increasing I ask my fellow members of the in Millions* fraction of the Office of Science APS to join me in telling the public budget has gone into the design, about the vital contribution made by construction, and operation of the Office of Science in the Depart- large facilities. With level budgets, ment of Energy, and to communicate the support for small group re- our vision to restore the US as one search has been seriously eroded. of the leaders in all important areas Request Because of the overall satisfaction of physical science research. with our facilities, user demand has Mildred S. Dresselhaus, an Insti-
Constant 2000 Dollars - Constant 2000 Dollars increased, but funding has seri- tute Professor at MIT, recently became ously limited operating time. More Director of the Office of Science at the effective utilization of the most ac- Department of Energy. She served as *Total Science Budget (in Millions of Constant FY 2000 Dollars) tive facilities is critically needed. APS President in 1984.
APS News welcomes and encourages letters and submissions from its members responding to these and other issues. Responses may be sent to: [email protected].