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ETH Zurich Annual Report 2006
Research Collection Report ETH Zurich Annual Report 2006 Author(s): ETH Zurich Publication Date: 2007 Permanent Link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000299445 Rights / License: In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted This page was generated automatically upon download from the ETH Zurich Research Collection. For more information please consult the Terms of use. ETH Library www.ethz.ch ETH Zurich Annual report 2006 Annual report 2006 Contents ETH Zurich 3 Highlights 5 Foreword from the President 6 What motivates us 8 Research and Teaching 14 Corporate Communications In Focus: 25 Systems biology 26 Vision and reality Energy science 33 Environmentally conscious and capable Information technology 38 intelligent and networked Renata Cosby, Andreas Fiersbach, Katrin la Roi, Arturo La Science City 45 Vecchia, Martina Märki, Dr. Verena Schmid Bagdasarjanz High-tech with a thinker’s culture Figures and Facts 48 Design and layout: Inform. Agentur für visuelle Kommunikation AG, Zürich Photos, illustrations: Daniel Boschung; Ruth Erdt; Nathalie Guinard; Maurice Haas; Prof. Gramazio / Prof. Kohler, DFAB, D-ARCH, ETH Zürich; J. P. Li, CCA California College of the Arts, San Francisco; and others Print: NZZ Fretz AG Circulation: 1200 Cover photo: A research team led by Dr. Christian Baerlocher and Dr. Lynne McCusker from the Laboratory of Crystallography at ETH Zurich has succeeded in solving the structure of the zeolite IM-5. The Annual report can be obtained from: Though IM-5 was first synthesized ten years ago, its complex structure remained unclear until now. ETH Zurich, Mailing Department, [email protected] ETH Zurich ETH Zurich stands for world-class scientific expertise, research that improves industry and society, and the education of highly-qualified specialists. -
Aleksei A. Abrikosov 1928–2017
Aleksei A. Abrikosov 1928–2017 A Biographical Memoir by M. R. Norman ©2018 National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. ALEKSEI ALEKSEEVICH ABRIKOSOV June 25, 1928–March 29, 2017 Elected to the NAS, 2000 Shortly after the 2003 announcement that Aleksei Abrikosov had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, a number of colleagues took Alex to lunch at a nearby Italian restau- rant. During lunch, one of the Russian visitors exclaimed that Alex should get a second Nobel Prize, this time in Literature for his famous “AGD” book with Lev Gor’kov and Igor Dzyaloshinskii (Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics.) Somewhat taken aback, I looked closely at this individual and realized that he was deadly serious. Although I could imagine the reaction of the Nobel Literature committee to such a book (for a lay person, perhaps analogous to trying to read Finnegan’s Wake), I had to admit that my own copy of this book is quite dog-eared, having been put to good use over the By M. R. Norman years. In fact, you know you have made it in physics when your book gets a Dover edition. One of the most charming pictures I ever saw was a rare drawing in color that Alexei Tsvelik did (commissioned by Andrei Varlamov for Alex’s 50th birthday) that was proudly displayed in Alex’s home in Lemont, IL. It showed Alex with his fingers raised in a curled fashion as in the habit of medieval Popes. -
Lev Davidovich Landau Born: 12 January, 1908, Baku, Russian Empire Died: 1 April, 1968, Moscow, Soviet Union
Symmetry XIII (2019) 1 Dedicated to Lev Davidovich Landau Born: 12 January, 1908, Baku, Russian Empire Died: 1 April, 1968, Moscow, Soviet Union Symmetry XIII (2019) 2 Volume XIII, 2019 Editorial Symmetry This issue of symmetry is dedicated to the great physicists Lev Devidovich Landau. An annual Publication of CDP, TU Landau Soviet theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum theory of (Covid-19 Issue) condensed matter whose pioneering research in this field was recognized with the Patron 1962 Nobel Prize for Physics. In the year 1941, he successfully applied quantum Prof. Dr. Binil Aryal theory to the movement of superfluid liquid helium. Landau argued for the need of yet another radical conceptual revolution in physics in order to resolve the Advisory Board mounting difficulties in relativistic quantum theory. The collective work of Prof. Dr. Om Prakash Niraula Landau’s group embraced practically every branch of theoretical physics. In 1946 Prof. Dr. Raju Khanal he described the phenomenon of Landau damping of electromagnetic waves in Prof. Dr. Narayan Prasad Adhikari plasma. Together with Vitaly L. Ginzburg, in 1950 Landau obtained the correct Prof. Dr. Ram Prasad Regmi equations of the macroscopic theory of superconductivity. During the 1950s he and Prof. Dr. Ishwar Koirala collaborators discovered that even in renormalized quantum electrodynamics, a Dr. Hari Prasad Lamichhane new divergence difficulty appears (the Landau pole). The phenomenon of the Dr. Bal Ram Ghimire coupling constant becoming infinite or vanishing at some energy is an important Dr. Ajay Kumar Jha feature of modern quantum field theories. In this volume, there are 7 articles Dr. -
Nuclear Weapons Technology 101 for Policy Wonks Bruce T
NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY FOR POLICY WONKS NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY 101 FOR POLICY WONKS BRUCE T. GOODWIN BRUCE T. GOODWIN BRUCE T. Center for Global Security Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory August 2021 NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY 101 FOR POLICY WONKS BRUCE T. GOODWIN Center for Global Security Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory August 2021 NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY 101 FOR POLICY WONKS | 1 This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in part under Contract W-7405-Eng-48 and in part under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. ISBN-978-1-952565-11-3 LCCN-2021907474 LLNL-MI-823628 TID-61681 2 | BRUCE T. GOODWIN Table of Contents About the Author. 2 Introduction . .3 The Revolution in Physics That Led to the Bomb . 4 The Nuclear Arms Race Begins. 6 Fission and Fusion are "Natural" Processes . 7 The Basics of the Operation of Nuclear Explosives. 8 The Atom . .9 Isotopes . .9 Half-life . 10 Fission . 10 Chain Reaction . 11 Critical Mass . 11 Fusion . 14 Types of Nuclear Weapons . 16 Finally, How Nuclear Weapons Work . 19 Fission Explosives . 19 Fusion Explosives . 22 Staged Thermonuclear Explosives: the H-bomb . 23 The Modern, Miniature Hydrogen Bomb . 25 Intrinsically Safe Nuclear Weapons . 32 Underground Testing . 35 The End of Nuclear Testing and the Advent of Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship . 39 Stockpile Stewardship Today . 41 Appendix 1: The Nuclear Weapons Complex . -
Gadol Beyisrael Hagaon Hakadosh Harav Chaim Michoel Dov
Eved Hashem – Gadol BeYisrael HaGaon HaKadosh HaRav Chaim Michoel Dov Weissmandel ZTVK "L (4. Cheshvan 5664/ 25. Oktober 1903, Debrecen, Osztrák–Magyar Monarchia – 6 Kislev 5718/ 29. November 1957, Mount Kisco, New York) Евед ХаШем – Гадоль БеИсраэль ХаГаон ХаКадош ХаРав Хаим-Михаэль-Дов Вайсмандель; Klenot medzi Klal Yisroel, Veľký Muž, Bojovník, Veľký Tzaddik, vynikajúci Talmid Chacham. Takýto človek príde na svet iba raz za pár storočí. „Je to Hrdina všetkých Židovských generácií – ale aj pre každého, kto potrebuje príklad odvážneho človeka, aby sa pozrel, kedy je potrebná pomoc pre tých, ktorí sú prenasledovaní a ohrození zničením v dnešnom svete.“ HaRav Chaim Michoel Dov Weissmandel ZTVK "L, je najväčší Hrdina obdobia Holokaustu. Jeho nadľudské úsilie o záchranu tisícov ľudí od smrti, ale tiež pokúsiť sa zastaviť Holokaust v priebehu vojny predstavuje jeden z najpozoruhodnejších príkladov Židovskej histórie úplného odhodlania a obete za účelom záchrany Židov. Nesnažil sa zachrániť iba niektorých Židov, ale všetkých. Ctil a bojoval za každý Židovský život a smútil za každou dušou, ktorú nemohol zachrániť. Nadľudské úsilie Rebeho Michoela Ber Weissmandla oddialilo deportácie viac ako 30 000 Židov na Slovensku o dva roky. Zohral vedúcu úlohu pri záchrane tisícov životov v Maďarsku, keď neúnavne pracoval na zverejňovaní „Osvienčimských protokolov“ o nacistických krutostiach a genocíde, aby „prebudil“ medzinárodné spoločenstvo. V konečnom dôsledku to ukončilo deportácie v Maďarsku a ušetrilo desiatky tisíc životov maďarských Židov. Reb Michoel Ber Weissmandel bol absolútne nebojácny. Avšak, jeho nebojácnosť sa nenarodila z odvahy, ale zo strachu ... neba. Každý deň, až do svojej smrti ho ťažil smútok pre milióny, ktorí nemohli byť spasení. 1 „Prosím, seriózne študujte Tóru,“ povedal HaRav Chaim Michoel Dov Weissmandel ZTVK "L svojim študentom, "spomína Rav Spitzer. -
Molecular Gastronomy
Mel’s Lesson Only for teaching purposes Science and Cooking • What does a Scientist and a Chef have in common? In cooking, it’s the synthesis (combining elements to make a One of the similarities between whole) of a meal or dining being a chef and a scientist is experience from a set of ingredients the method of creating an idea using known methods of cooking and getting results. In science, it’s the synthesis of an experiment using defined materials (lab rats, telescopes, In both science and cooking, you chemicals in a test tube) with take known ingredients and use a scientific equipment to obtain common set of techniques to get data about how something works. results. Scientist vs Chef Career Paths • Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline (A field of study Molecular or work that is related to one aspect, but not the whole, of a broader field of study or work) of food science that Gastronomy investigates the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur in cooking. It’s program includes three areas, as cooking was recognized to have three components: social, artistic, and technical. Molecular cuisine is a modern style of cooking and takes advantage of many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines. Examples of Molecular Gastronomy History of Molecular Gastronomy • The scientific discipline — which was introduced under the name molecular and physical gastronomy was later shortened to molecular gastronomy . • Established in 1988 by Hervé This (top photo), a physical chemist, and Nicholas Kurti (bottom photo) , a former professor of physics at the University of Oxford. -
Isaacashovb BOOKOF \SCIEI\CEN
IsaacAshovb BOOKOF \SCIEI\CEN Editedby IsaacAsimou andlason A. Shulman A BLUE CLIFF EDITIONS BOOK - XN WeidenfeUWtf:; Copyright @ 1988by Blue Cliff Editions, Inc. All rights reserved.No reproductionof this book in whole or in part or in any form may be madewithout written authorizationof the copyright owner. Publishedby Weidenfeld& Nicolson, New York A Division of Vheatland Corporation 10 East53rd Street New York, NY 10022 Publishedin Canadaby GeneralPublishing Company, Ltd. Due to limitationsof space,permissions appear on Page 337. Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data IsaacAsimov's book of scienceand nature quotations / editedby Isaac Asimov andJasonA. Shulman.-lst ed. p. cm. 'A Blue Cliff editionsbook. " Includesindex. rsBN 1-555-84111-2 1. Science-Quotations,maxims, etc. I. Asimov,lsaac, I92A- II. Shulman,Jason. Iil. Title: Book of scienceand nature quotations. Q173.r831983 87-22489 5oo-dc19 cIP Manufacturedin the United Statesof America Designedby lrving PerkinsAssociates, Inc. First Edition 1098765432r FOR MY DAUGHTER ARIANA ELIZABETH: May the Seasstay DrE andthe Skystay HW May yourHeait ttoy Oput andBeauty fiU yourEyt, J. A. S. Acklrowledg*ents THts BooK could not havebeen createdwithout a number of peopleI would like to acknowledg. here: A*y Appleby, ashead researcher,was responsiblefor gathering mosr of the raw material used in the book. Her skill in findirg quotarions for every subject I could conceive of (and some she inventedl) was truly amtzing. This proJectcould not have gotten out of its infancy without her care and work. SusanWalker not only added many of the quotations, but did much of the original researchin finding quotations from news stories and scientific abstracts alike. -
ROBERT J. SCHOELKOPF Yale University
ROBERT J. SCHOELKOPF Yale University Phone: (203) 432-4289 15 Prospect Street, #423 Becton Center Fax: (203) 432-4283 New Haven, CT 06520-8284 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://rsl.yale.edu/ PERSONAL U.S. Citizen. Married, two children. EDUCATION Princeton University, A. B. Physics, cum laude. 1986 California Institute of Technology, Ph.D., Physics. 1995 ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS Director of Yale Quantum Institute 2014 – present Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, Yale University 2013- present William A. Norton Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, Yale University 2009-2013 Co-Director of Yale Center for Microelectronic Materials and Structures 2006-2012 Associate Director, Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering 2009 Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, Yale University 2003-2008 Interim Department Chairman, Applied Physics, Yale University July-December 2012 Visiting Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia March-June 2008 Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, Yale University July 1998-July 2003 Associate Research Scientist and Lecturer, January 1995-July 1998 Department of Applied Physics, Yale University Graduate Research Assistant, Physics, California Institute of Technology 1988-1994 Electrical/Cryogenic Engineer, Laboratory for High-Energy Astrophysics, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center 1986-1988 HONORS AND AWARDS Connecticut Medal of Science (The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering) 2017 Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2016 Elected to National Academy of Sciences 2015 Max Planck Forschungspreis 2014 Fritz London Memorial Prize 2014 John Stewart Bell Prize 2013 Yale Science and Engineering Association (YSEA) Award for Advancement 2010 of Basic and Applied Science Member of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering 2009 APS Joseph F. -
J. G. WEISEND II G. TERENCE MEADEN a Biography of a Great
Springer Biographies Going for Cold A Biography of a Great Physicist, Kurt Mendelssohn J. G. WEISEND II G. TERENCE MEADEN Springer Biographies The books published in the Springer Biographies tell of the life and work of scholars, innovators, and pioneers in all fields of learning and throughout the ages. Prominent scientists and philosophers will feature, but so too will lesser known personalities whose significant contributions deserve greater recognition and whose remarkable life stories will stir and motivate readers. Authored by historians and other academic writers, the volumes describe and analyse the main achievements of their subjects in manner accessible to nonspecialists, interweaving these with salient aspects of the protagonists’ personal lives. Autobiographies and memoirs also fall into the scope of the series. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13617 J. G. Weisend II • G. Terence Meaden Going for Cold A Biography of a Great Physicist, Kurt Mendelssohn J. G. Weisend II G. Terence Meaden Accelerator Division St Peter’s College European Spallation Source University of Oxford, UK Lund, Sweden ISSN 2365-0613 ISSN 2365-0621 (electronic) Springer Biographies ISBN 978-3-030-61198-9 ISBN 978-3-030-61199-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61199-6 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. -
Bohr's Relational Holism and the Classical-Quantum Interaction1
1 Bohr’s Relational Holism and the classical-quantum Interaction1 Mauro Dorato Department of Philosophy Communication and Media Studies University of Rome “Roma Tre”, Via Ostiense 234, 00144, Rome, Italy [email protected] 1 Introduction: a conflict in Bohr’s philosophy? Bohr’s philosophy of quantum mechanics has often been charged for what is allegedly one of its major shortcomings, namely the advocacy of an unambiguous classical/quantum distinction (let me refer to this view with the label the distinction thesis). As is well known, such a distinction is needed to defend Bohr’s view that any communicable measurement outcome must presuppose a classically describable instrument, with respect to which any reference to the quantum of action can be neglected (Bohr 1958, 4). Critics have then often insisted on the fact that the distinction in question is hopelessly vague (Bell 1987, 29) or at least strongly contextual (Ghirardi 2004), so that Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics suffers from the same vagueness and adhoc-ness. The resulting problem is, allegedly, a renunciation to describe the dynamical interaction between system and apparatus in a physically precise, theoretically based and non-contextual way, and therefore to offer a much-needed solution to the measurement problem. In my paper I will present and critically discuss the main strategies that Bohr used and could have used to defend from this charge his interpretation of quantum mechanics. In particular, in the first part I will reassess the main arguments that Bohr used to advocate the 1 Thanks to Henry Folse and Jan Faye for their attentive reading of a previous draft of the paper. -
Hypersonic Flight
Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page PHYSICS TODAY November 2017 • volume 70, number 11 A publication of the American Institute of Physics HYPERSONIC FLIGHT The legacy of Ilya Lifshitz Atmospheric methane past and present Gender-based pay disparity Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page VERIFY AND Surpass design challenges with ease using COMSOL Multiphysics®. Work with its OPTIMIZE powerful mathematical modeling tools and solver technology to deliver accurate and YOUR DESIGNS comprehensive simulation results. ® Develop custom applications using the with COMSOL Multiphysics Application Builder and deploy them within your organization and to customers worldwide The evolution of computational tools for with a local installation of COMSOL Server™. numerical simulation of physics-based systems has reached a major milestone. Benefit from the power of multiphysics today, request a live demo at comsol.com © Copyright 2017 COMSOL. COMSOL, the COMSOL logo, COMSOL Multiphysics, Capture the Concept, COMSOL Desktop, COMSOL Server, and LiveLink are either registered trademarks or trademarks of COMSOL AB. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners, and COMSOL AB and its subsidiaries and products are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or supported by those trademark owners. For a list of such trademark owners, -
Ya B Zeldovich (1914–1987) Chemist, Nuclear Physicist, Cosmologist
GENERAL ARTICLE Ya B Zeldovich (1914–1987) Chemist, Nuclear Physicist, Cosmologist Varun Sahni Ya B Zeldovich was a pre-eminent Soviet physi- cist whose seminal contributions spanned many ¯elds ranging from physical chemistry to nuclear and particle physics, and ¯nally astrophysics and cosmology. This article attempts to convey some of the zest with which he did science and the im- portant role he played in fostering and mentoring Varun Sahni did his PhD a whole generation of talented Soviet scientists. in Moscow State Univer- sity under the supervision Introduction of Ya B Zeldovich and A A Starobinsky. Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich was exceptionally talented. He is a professor at His active scienti¯c career included major contributions IUCAA with interests in: in ¯elds as diverse as chemical physics (adsorption and the early Universe, gravity waves, dark matter and catalysis), the theory of shock waves, thermal explo- dark energy, quantum sions, the theory of °ame propogation, the theory of field theory in curved combustion and detonation, nuclear and particle physics, space-time and the and, during the latter part of his life: gravitation, astro- formation of large scale physics and cosmology [1]. structure in the Universe. Zeldovich made key contributions in all these areas, nur- turing a creative and thriving scienti¯c community in the process. His total scienti¯c output exceeds 500 re- 1 Bourbaki was the pseudonym search articles and 20 books. Indeed, after meeting him, collectively adopted by a group of twentieth century mathemati- the famous English physicist Stephen Hawking wrote cians who wrote several influen- \Now I know that you are a real person and not a group tial books under this pseudonym of scientists like the Bourbaki"1.