Showing papers in "Physics Today in 2003"
TL;DR: In this article, the crucial role of clouds in predicting global climate change is discussed, and it is shown that increased greenhouse gases will do to global climate, and that clouds play a crucial role in this prediction.
Abstract: To predict reliably what increased greenhouse gases will do to global climate, we have to understand the crucial role of clouds.
563 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a coherent interpretation of water's properties is beginning to emerge from recent experimental and theoretical investigations, and a cold, non-crystalline states play an important role in understanding the physics of liquid water.
Abstract: Cold, noncrystalline states play an important role in understanding the physics of liquid water. From recent experimental and theoretical investigations, a coherent interpretation of water’s properties is beginning to emerge.
523 citations
TL;DR: This book surveys higher-order finite difference methods and develops various mass-lumped finite element methods for the transient wave equations, and presents the most efficient methods, respecting both accuracy and stability for each sort of problem.
Abstract: Solving efficiently the wave equations involved in modeling acoustic, elastic or electromagnetic wave propagation remains a challenge both for research and industry. To attack the problems coming from the propagative character of the solution, the author constructs higher-order numerical methods to reduce the size of the meshes, and consequently the time and space stepping, dramatically improving storage and computing times. This book surveys higher-order finite difference methods and develops various mass-lumped finite (also called spectral) element methods for the transient wave equations, and presents the most efficient methods, respecting both accuracy and stability for each sort of problem. A central role is played by the notion of the dispersion relation for analyzing the methods. The last chapter is devoted to unbounded domains which are modeled using perfectly matched layer (PML) techniques. Numerical examples are given.
464 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the increasing ability to coherently control quantum systems, designer Hamiltonians can be created to explore new physics and to yield a better understanding of complex phenomena, and they can be used to create new physics models.
Abstract: Thanks to the increasing ability to coherently control quantum systems, designer Hamiltonians can be created to explore new physics and to yield a better understanding of complex phenomena.
411 citations
IBM1
251 citations
242 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the key role played by thermally excited defects such as vortices, disclinations, dislocations, vacancies and interstitials in the physics of crystals, superfluids, superconductors, liquid crystals and polymer arrays is described.
Abstract: This book describes the key role played by thermally excited defects such as vortices, disclinations, dislocations, vacancies and interstitials in the physics of crystals, superfluids, superconductors, liquid crystals and polymer arrays Geometrical aspects of statistical mechanics become particularly important when thermal fluctuations entangle or crumple extended line-like or surface-like objects in three dimensions In the case of entangled vortices above the first-order flux lattice melting transition in hightemperature superconductors, the lines themselves are defects A variety of theories combined with renormalization-group ideas are used to describe the delicate interplay among defects, statistical mechanics and geometry characteristic of these problems in condensed matter physics This indispensible guide has its origins in Professor Nelson’s contributions to summer schools, conference proceedings and workshops over the past twenty years It provides a coherent and pedagogic graduate-level introduction to the field of defects and geometry
223 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the interaction among electronic spins, charges, and orbitals account for a rich variety of patterns in some oxides, and may form the basis for a new type of electronics.
Abstract: Interactions among electronic spins, charges, and orbitals account for a rich variety of patterns in some oxides, and—with the advent of new crystal-growth technologies—may form the basis for a new type of electronics.
197 citations
TL;DR: From atom-scale stripes to micron-scale patches, manganites exhibit a wealth of fascinating phase-separated behavior as mentioned in this paper, from atom-to-micron scaling.
Abstract: From atom-scale stripes to micron-scale patches, manganites exhibit a wealth of fascinating phase-separated behavior.
183 citations
TL;DR: In recent years, a specific variety of supernovae, type Ia, has given us a first glimpse at the history of cosmic expansion, and surprised us with an unexpected plot twist.
Abstract: or millennia, cosmology has been a theorist’s domain, where elegant theory was only occasionally endangered by inconvenient facts. Early in the 20th century, Albert Einstein gave us new conceptual tools to rigorously address the questions of the origins, evolution, and fate of the universe. In recent years, technology has developed to the point where these concepts from general relativity can be substantiated and elaborated by measurements. For example, measurement of the remnant glow from the hot, dense beginnings of the expanding universe—the cosmic microwave background—is yielding increasingly detailed data about the first half-million years and the overall geometry of the cosmos (see the news story on page 21 of this issue). The standard model of particle physics has also begun to play a prominent role in cosmology. The widely accepted idea of exponential inflation in the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang was built on the predicted effect of certain putative particle fields and potentials on the cosmic expansion. Measuring the history of cosmic expansion is no easy task, but in recent years, a specific variety of supernovae, type Ia, has given us a first glimpse at that history—and surprised us with an unexpected plot twist.
TL;DR: In this paper, the exact quantization of Hall conductance in a two-dimensional electron gas can be understood in terms of a topological invariant known as the Chern number.
Abstract: The amazingly precise quantization of Hall conductance in a two-dimensional electron gas can be understood in terms of a topological invariant known as the Chern number.
[...]
TL;DR: Fluctuations in the flow of electrons can signal the transition from particlelike to wavelike behavior and signify the nature of charge transport in mesoscopic systems as discussed by the authors, which can be seen as a sign of the transition between particle-like and wave-like behavior.
Abstract: Fluctuations in the flow of electrons can signal the transition from particlelike to wavelike behavior and signify the nature of charge transport in mesoscopic systems.
TL;DR: The acceleration of charged particles surfing on electron density waves in plasmas can experience enormous accelerating gradients as mentioned in this paper, and the acceleration can be accelerated by tens of thousands of degrees.
Abstract: Charged particles surfing on electron density waves in plasmas can experience enormous accelerating gradients.
TL;DR: With a superconducting transition temperature of 40 K and two super-conducting gaps, MgB2 is full of surprises for both experimentalists and theorists as discussed by the authors, and it is known as the "superconducting gap gap".
Abstract: With a superconducting transition temperature of 40 K and two superconducting gaps, MgB2 is full of surprises for both experimentalists and theorists.
TL;DR: The history of the Stern-Gerlach experiment reveals how persistence, accident, and luck can sometimes combine in just the right ways as mentioned in this paper, and it is worth noting that the Stern experiment is a classic example of this.
Abstract: The history of the Stern–Gerlach experiment reveals how persistence, accident, and luck can sometimes combine in just the right ways.
TL;DR: The untold story of Rosalind Franklin, the woman who helped to make one of humanity's greatest discoveries - DNA - but who was never given credit for doing so, is described in this paper.
Abstract: The untold story of the woman who helped to make one of humanity's greatest discoveries - DNA - but who was never given credit for doing so. 'Our dark lady is leaving us next week.' On 7 March 1953 Maurice Wilkins of King's College, London, wrote to Francis Crick at the Cavendish laboratories in Cambridge to say that as soon as his obstructive female colleague was gone from King's, he, Crick, and James Watson, a young American working with Crick, could go full speed ahead with solving the structure of the DNA molecule that lies in every gene. Not long after, the pair whose names will be forever linked announced to the world that they had discovered the secret of life. But could Crick and Watson have done it without the 'dark lady'? In two years at King's, Franklin had made major contributions to the understanding of DNA. She established its existence in two forms, she worked out the position of the phosphorous atoms in its backbone. Most crucially, using X-ray techniques that may have contributed significantly to her later death from cancer at the tragically young age of thirty-seven, she had taken beautiful photographs of the patterns of DNA. This is the extraordinarily powerful story of Rosalind Franklin, told by one of our greatest biographers; the single-minded young scientist whose contribution to arguably the most significant discovery of all time went unrecognised, elbowed aside in the rush for glory, and who died too young to recover her claim to some of that reputation, a woman who was not the wife of anybody and who is a myth in the making. Like a medieval saint, Franklin looms larger as she recedes in time. She has become a feminist icon, the Sylvia Plath of molecular biology. This will be a full and balanced biography, that will examine Franklin's abruptness and tempestuousness, her loneliness and her relationships, the powerful family from which she sprang and the uniqueness of the work in which she was engaged. It is a vivid portrait, in sum, of a gifted young woman drawn against a background of women's education, Anglo-Jewry and the greatest scientific discovery of the century.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Scientific Advisory Board list of Contributors Acknowldgments Forward Introduction VOLUME 1: FUNDAMENTALS PART A1: MICROSCOPICS PART A2: THERMODYNAMICS and STATISTICAL MECHANICS PART B1: DETERMINING MATERIALS and MOLECULAR PROPERTIES PART B2: DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS PART B3: TECHNIQUES for APPLYING THEORY
Abstract: Editors Scientific Advisory Board List of Contributers Acknowldgments Forward Introduction VOLUME 1: FUNDAMENTALS PART A1: MICROSCOPICS PART A2: THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS PART A3: DYNAMICAL PROCESSES. VOLUME 2: METHODS PART B1: DETERMINING MATERIALS AND MOLECULAR PROPERTIES PART B2: DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS PART B3: TECHNIQUES FOR APPLYING THEORY VOLUME 3: APPLICATIONS PART C1: MICROSCOPIC SYSTEMS PART C2: EXTENDED AND MACROSCOPIC SYSTEMS PART C3: CHEMICAL KINETICS AND DYNAMICS INDEX
TL;DR: The concept of color space and color solid is introduced in this paper, and the development of color order systems is discussed in Section 3.2.1.1] and 2.3.
Abstract: Preface.Chapter 1. The Concept of Color Space and Color Solid.Chapter 2. Historical Development of Color Order Systems.Chapter 3. Psychophysics.Chapter 4. Color Attributes and Perceptual Attribute Scaling.Chapter 5. Psychophysical Scaling of Color Attributes: Stimulus and Perception.Chapter 6. Historical Development of Color Space and Color Difference Formulas.Chapter 7. Major Color Order Systems and Their Psychophysical Structure.Chapter 8. From Color-Matching Error to Large Color Differences.Chapter 9. Conclusions and Outlook.Notes.Glossary.References.Credits.Index.
TL;DR: In this article, small-scale experiments sensitive to tiny effects could offer profound insights into what lies beyond the standard model of elementary particles, and they have been used in a variety of applications.
Abstract: Small-scale experiments sensitive to tiny effects could offer profound insights into what lies beyond the standard model of elementary particles.
TL;DR: In this article, new scanning probe techniques provide fascinating glimpses into the detailed behavior of semiconductor devices in the quantum regime, and they provide fascinating insights into the properties of semiconductors.
Abstract: New scanning probe techniques provide fascinating glimpses into the detailed behavior of semiconductor devices in the quantum regime.
TL;DR: The predominance of men in physics remains a puzzle as mentioned in this paper, and to attract talented women and minorities, the culture of college physics needs a makeover to attract women and minority students.
Abstract: The predominance of men in physics remains a puzzle. To attract talented women and minorities, the culture of college physics needs a makeover.
TL;DR: The authors argue that thousands of teachers are saddled with error-filled physical science textbooks that fail to present what science is all about and that scientists deserve some of the blame for this.
Abstract: Thousands of teachers are saddled with error-filled physical science textbooks that fail to present what science is all about. Physicists deserve some of the blame.
TL;DR: The jury is still out on San Pedro Martir's becoming a major ground-based astronomy site, but it is in the running thanks to its clear skies, proximity to the US, and other scientific and political virtues as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The jury is still out on San Pedro Martir’s becoming a major ground-based astronomy site, but it’s in the running thanks to its clear skies, proximity to the US, and other scientific and political virtues.
TL;DR: Collisions between high-energy beams of gold nuclei are providing glimpses of hot, dense states of matter reminiscent of the Big Bang as mentioned in this paper, and they have been shown to be a powerful source of information.
Abstract: Collisions between high-energy beams of gold nuclei are providing glimpses of hot, dense states of matter reminiscent of the Big Bang.
TL;DR: It was not your grandfather's quantum mechanics as discussed by the authors, but today, researchers treat entanglement as a physical resource: quantum information can now be measured, mixed, distilled, concentrated, and diluted.
Abstract: It’s not your grandfather’s quantum mechanics. Today, researchers treat entanglement as a physical resource: Quantum information can now be measured, mixed, distilled, concentrated, and diluted.