, November Elections are Caltech wins "the big coming. Proposition one!" First soccer game and Student , ate Perspectives. win in five years. see pages 1,4,5,7 see page 6 THE CALIFORNIA TECH VOLUME C, N UM BER 7 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA FRIDAY , OCTOBER 30,1998 PHYSICS TEACHERS AWARD GOODSTEIN Pumpkins, Prufrock, Parties OERSTED MEDAL ~ BY T ECH STAFF COURTESY OF MEDIA RELATIONS ~ Most of the Caltech Community is on ;;, campus for holidays such as Easter, Thanks- The Califomia Instilule of ;;'" giving, and Valentines Day, howeve r, the Technology is pleased to an­ ~ festivities for any of those celebrations don't <- nounce thai David Goodslein compare to Caltech at Halloween. has been awarded the 1999 Oer­ First off, there is the world famous sted Medal by the American Millikan Pumpkin Drop Experiments, Association of Physics Teachers. hosted every year by the members of Dab­ The medal is to be presented at ney House. Dabney Scientists have been the Association 's annual meet­ dropping liquid nitrogen cooled pumpkins ing in Anaheim next year. in hopes of producing a 'blue flash' for sev­ Goodstein teaches Ph2a at eral years. The last time the flash was seen Caltech, where he has been on was in 1988. The members of Dabney the faculty for more than 30 House are usi ng a different technique this years. In 1995 he was named the year in hopes of seeing the blue flash. Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished The pumpkins have gone through vari­ Teaching and Service Professor. ous stages of freezing all through out His book, States of Matter, Halloween week. Last night, published in 1975 by Prentice they were moved from their Hall and reissued by Dover temporary placement in Press in 1985, was hai led by the Coffeehouse freezer Physics Today as the book that Dabney Hovse pre­ to their IN2 home. The launched a new discipline, con­ pares pumpkins for ~~.. pumpkins will remain densed-matter physics. His re­ the Millikan Gravi­ there until ihe drop. search in experimental con­ tational Accelerator The Pumpkin Drop densed-matter physics has dealt by first chilling them in will take place at mid­ with phases and phase'transi­ the Coffeehousefreezer. night (tomorrow night) tions in adsorbed, two-dimen­ The pumpkins were moved on Saturday, October sional matter, ballistic phonons to IN2 Thursday night to 3 I st at the west side of in solids, superfluidity in liquid PLEASE SEElliLLOWEEN ON reach "Blue Flash" temperatures. PAGE 6 helium, and critical point phe­ nomena. This work has led to nearly 200 scientific publica­ tions. He is currently working on Califol11ia Votes a futU re flight experiment that will examine the dynamics of the superfluid phase transition in Electricity, Horsemeat the absence of gravity. Goodstein was the host and project director of The Mechalli­ and Furry Mammals cal Universe, a 52-part college sures. For more information, physics telecourse based on his BY TIM RAUB visit the secretary of state's web popular lectures at Caltech. The Tuesday is election day! On site at http://Vote98.ss.ca.gov! project, which has been adapted November 3, American voters If Proposition la (the Class for high-school use and trans­ will have the oppor- Size Reduction Kin- lated into many other languages, tunity to choose poli- Prop. 4 dergarten-University has been broadcast on hundr~ds ticians who will make Public Education Fa- of publiC-broadcasting stations laws that affect your prohibits cilities Bond Act of When clocks shifted back last weekend, members and has garnered more than a way of life and mine. 1998) passes, CaJifor- dozen prestigious awards, in­ trapping of Blacker House continued an old tradition: California voters nia will issue $9.2 bil- cluding the 1987 Japan Prize for driving to Tommy's, eating, and returning to have an added privi- furry, lion in general obliga- tel evision. Caltech before they left lege and responsibil- tion bonds (the State The Oersted Medal, estab­ ity - they will cast nongame will also pay $6 bil­ li shed in 1936, is the most pres­ votes for or again>t lion in interest). This tigious award of the American mammals IN THIS ISSUE each of ten ballot money can be used by Association of Physics Teachers measure (proposi- with steel- public schools rang- and recognizes a teacher for no­ tions). If a ballot ing from K-12 insti- THE USUAL THIS WEEK'S table contributions to the teach­ ]-awed measure is passed on tutions to community ing of physics. A monet"ry STUFF FEATURES election day, it will colleges and the UC award of $5,000, an inscribed leghold become a law. Propo- and Cal State school medal, and a certificate are pre­ Announcements ..................... 12 Bookwonn __ ..... __ ........... __ ...... __ .lO sitions have limited traps. systems to fund eli- sented to the winner. There have Clubwatch ___ ... ________ ._ .... __ ..... _____ 2 Election ............. __ .. ____ ..... __ . ___ .... 7 bilingual education ---....;.--- gible construction D il ber~ .. ___ ... _________ __ .. _____ ..... ___ ...9 been two previous Caltech win­ Frisbee..... ____ .... ____ .......... __ .... __ ... 6 and challenged affirmative ac- projects which will build new Fox TroI- _____ ., ••• ________ •. .. _... _____ ...• 9 ners of the Oersted Medal: Rob­ Pkasantville ...........•..... __ ..... _. ... ll tion in past years. Here is a brief classrooms and repair old build­ The Outside World ______ .. _.... _..... 2 Socce r. .. _____ _____________ ........ __ ........ 6 ert A. Millikan in 1940 and Ri­ summary of selected ballot mea- PLEASE SEE ELECTION ON P ACE 7 chard P. Feynman in 1972. 2 October 30, 1998 NEWS The California Tech Clubwatch! The Outside World by Cheryl Forest The Big T is c urre ntly at 11 :42 in Kirkhoff 298. Pl an Caltech Community. Drop by Washington, DC: On October 23, Isreali Prime Minis ter Ben­ looking for a business man­ to take over the student shop. S AC 36 to sign up. Email jami n Netanyahu and Palestini an leader Yasser Arafat signed an ager. This position is ASCIT We also need an isolated stag­ spectre@its for more detai ls. interim peace accord . The agreement calls for Isreal to with­ appointed so sign up on the Ing area. draw its troops from land in the West Bank. In exchange, the door ofthe ASCIT offi ce in the Studen'ts for the Exploration Palesinians have agreed to a detailed security plan to protect SAC. The Big T is also look­ The Francophile Club meets and Development of Space Isreal from terrorist attacks. Extremi sts on both sides have been ing for photographers and lay­ the first and third Tuesday of (SEDS) will be hosting a Hal­ violently opposed to the outcome. The latest response occurred out.staff. This week there's a every month to vi ew subtitled loween Movie Night , free to Thursday when a Palestini an su icide-bomber tried to bl ow up a meeting in the Student Publi­ French movies in the South the Cal tech Community, in the school bu s fill ed with Israeli children; one of the army jeeps in cations Office, SAC 40. If you Catalina Recreati on Room at subbasement of Moore at 7:00 the convey accompanying the bus intercepted the vehicle and are interested in joining the Big 8:00 p.m. They are also look­ p.m. Candy will be avail able. took the brunt of the blast. T, email wren @ugcs. ing for a new Treasurer. Email For more information emai I United Nations: The U. ecurity Council decided on Thurs­ j ranco@ its for details. seds @its. day that sanctions against Libya are going to continue. Once The California Tech meets ev­ Libya turns over two suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the sanctions will be suspended. ery Friday at 12: lSi n The Cof­ The Jamroom is open to all The Student Shop is holdi ng Stockholm, Sweden: At least 60 people were killed and about feehouse for pizza, review of members of the Caltech Com­ sign-ups today at 5:00 p.m. at 100 were injured early Friday (today) when a fire raced through the current issue, and article as­ munity. It is located in the the student shop. Email a crowded discotheque. According to a local rescue service signments. Additional article basement of Winnett and is studshop@its for details. leader, there are signs that the fire was deliberately set. assignments are made at the reachable from the west side of Ankara, Turkey: A Turkish Airlines plane was hijacked Thurs­ Monday meeting in the Tech the building. Fees are $5 per day by a man demanding to be taken to Switzerland. The pilot office (SAC 40) at 9:00 p.m. term. For more information landed at Ankara after convincing the hijacker, described as a Email editors @tech for more email jamroom@its. If you would like your group or club Kurdish militant, that the plane was making a refueling stop in details. repo!1edabout in Clubwatch!, please Sofia, Bulgaria. This is the second time in about a week that The S.P.E.C. T.R.E. Library of email editors@tech with the appro­ this plane has been hijacked; last week's hijackers were protest­ Evil Geniuses for a Better To­ Science Fiction and Fantasy priate information. Solicitations will ing the decision by French officials to deport a Kurd to Turkey. morrow: Meet on Wednesday novels is a vailable to the be directed to businees@tech. THE CALIFORNIA TECH Caltec;h 40-58, Pasadena, CA 91125 editorial desk: (626) 395-6153 advertising desk: (626) 395-6154 edit orial email: [email protected] advertising email: [email protected] ISSN 0008-1582 VOLUME C, NUMBER 7 OCTOBER 30 , 1998 rPITOlS Erik Dill Ka(y Isaacs Shannon Stewman JUSIH[S$ MANAO[t Lexi Baughe r SIom [om", Fo.rvu Wurw lim Raub Ron DollelC Daisy James Ce.n.AmM $fMF Justin Ho Roger O' Brient Jason Meltzer Jean-Paul Revel Corvf_ Dave TyteW Nicholas Bret:n Adam Villani YuJiya Ruvirukaya Rui Wang Cot<mov!w Mike Aslle _f_ Cynthia Gong Kenneth Kuo Autumn Looijen Shant! Rao --.