Entries in "Astronomy, Astrophysics, & Physics" ( for this category only)

Happy 50th Birthday: Physical Review Letters

Physical Review Letters, started by Editor Sam Goudsmit as an experiment, reaches its 50th anniversary in July 2008. They are marking this occasion in several ways.

Large Hadron Collider at CERN

Here is an example of science on YouTube - tour of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. YouTube has become so mainstream it is nice to see educational and informative videos like this mixed in with all the humor, video blogs, birthday parties, and other uses of YouTube.

MathSciJournalWiki

MathSciJournalWiki is a freely-editable resource for information on scholarly journals, especially in mathematics. It aims to be a central resource for understanding the journal system, both in its academic and economic aspects.

It lists the price history and numbers of pages for many of the journals used in mathematics and physics. It also highlights various news in the math and science publishing industry.

In Memoriam - Paul Claspy

This is not my traditional postings, but it has great connection to the Kelvin Smith Library, physics, and electrical engineering here at Case. William Claspy works in KSL as the librarian for astronomy, chemistry, and library instruction.

From Case Daily - January 26, 2007:
Paul Claspy, alumnus and associate professor emeritus of electrical engineering and applied physics at Case Western Reserve University, died of complications from multiple myeloma on January 19 at the Renaissance Retirement Center in Olmsted Township. Prof. Claspy, who earned a Ph.D. (1970) in electrical engineering and applied physics from the School of Graduate Studies, was hired as a faculty member in 1973, retiring July 1, 1993. He received emeritus status in 1997. In addition to teaching, he was education director for Ohio Aerospace Institute. He married the former Lois Hoffman, who earned her master's in library science in 1958 from the former Western Reserve University School of Information and Library Science. She died in December, 2006. Survivors include daughters Jane Nesmith of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Ellen Vesey of Atlanta, Ga.; and son William Claspy (CWR '88, GRS '93, English) of Middleburg Heights, Ohio. To read more about Prof. Claspy, refer to Cleveland Plain Dealer article on January 23, 2007.

New Case Publication: Staggered Passive Micromixers with Fractal Surface Patterning

Staggered Passive Micromixers with Fractal Surface Patterning
Marco Camesasca, Miron Kaufman, and Ica Manas-Zloczower
Department of Macromolecular Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Physics Department, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
Vol: 16, Issue: 11, November 2006, pp. 2298-2311

Abstract

We present a procedure for inducing chaotic mixing based on a non-periodic patterning of the walls making use of the Weierstrass fractal function to generate the locations for the grooves. We show the numerical analysis of flow in three different geometries generated with the Weierstrass function and compare the results with a fourth geometry, quite similar to the staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) of Stroock et al (2002 Science 295 647), for which the patterning is periodic. We evaluate the Lyapunov exponents for massless and non-interacting particles advected by the flow and traced along the channels. We also compute the entropy of mixing for binary mixtures. Finally, we compute generalized (fractal) dimensions associated with the interface of the two fluids. The results show consistently substantial enhancement in mixing efficiency for two of the Weierstrass channels compared to the SHM.

Availability for Case Faculty, Staff, & Students:

• Directly from Publisher
• OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center

Open Access Books from Caltech

Caltech has started a depository of open access books by Caltech authors. Subjects include chemistry, economics, geological & planetary sciences, mathematics, and mechanical engineering. The books range from 1959 to 2005.

As of July 23, 2006, some of the books included:

Mathematics:
Abraham, Ralph and Marsden, Jerrold E. (1987) Foundations of Mechanics, Second Edition. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Redwood City, CA. ISBN 080530102X

Mechanical Engineering:
Brennen, Christopher Earls (2005) Fundamentals of Multiphase Flow. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 13 978-0-521-84804-6

Brennen, Christopher Earls (1995) Cavitation and Bubble Dynamics. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 0195094093

Brennen, Christopher Earls (1994) Hydrodynamics of Pumps. Concepts NREC and Oxford University Press.

Housner, George W. and Hudson, Donald E. (1980) Applied Mechanics Dynamics. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Housner, George W. and Vreeland, Thad, Jr. (1965) The Analysis of Stress and Deformation. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Chemistry:
Goddard, William A., III (1986) Nature of the Chemical Bond. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Langford, Cooper H. and Gray, Harry B. (1966) Ligand Substitution Processes. W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York.

Roberts, John D. (1961) Notes on Molecular Orbital Calculations. W. A. Benjamin.

Roberts, John D. (1961) An Introduction to the Analysis of Spin-Spin Splitting in High-Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectra. W. A. Benjamin.

Roberts, John D. (1959) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: applications to organic chemistry. McGraw-Hill Series in Advanced Chemistry. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.

(VIA: Science Resources, May, 8, 2006)

New Eminent Scholar at Case

Crain's Cleveland Business (July 11, 2006) announced that Dr. Norman Tien, chair of Case’s department of electrical engineering and computer science and Nord Professor of Engineering, was named the Ohio Eminent Scholar in condensed matter physics. See full story for more details.

(VIA: Case Daily, July 12, 2006)

Physical Sciences Resource Center

The Physical Sciences Resource Center is a collection of information and resources for physical sciences education. You may search the collection by keyword or name, or browse the collection by topic, object type, or grade level.

Topics included:

• Astronomy
• Classical Mechanics
• Education Practices
• Electricity & Magnetism
• Fluid Mechanics
• General Physics
• Modern Physics
• Optics
• Oscillations & Waves
• Other Sciences
• Quantum Physics
• Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics

About the PSRC:

The Physical Sciences Resource Center is a web-based databank that provides K-20 teachers links to a wide range of teaching and learning resources in the physical sciences. All materials are classified by their grade level, topic, and activity type, and have descriptions outlining their content. Information about authors, publishers, costs, and copyright is also provided.

Virtual Visit of the Canadian Space Agency

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) was established in 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act. The agency operates like a government department. The president is the equivalent of a deputy minister and reports to the Minister of Industry. The president oversees five core functions: Space Programs, Space Technologies, Space Science, Canadian Astronaut Office, Space Operations. He also looks after six executive functions (Audit, Evaluation and Review; Corporate Management; Communications; Strategic Development; External Relations; Government Liaison) and three Corporate functions (Legal Services, Administration, and Human Resources). The President is supported by the Senior Vice-President and the Vice-President, Science, Technology and Programs.

Take a virtual tour of the John H. Chapman Space Centre. It is really well done and informative. It also makes a nice example if someone were creating a virtual tour of a library or laboratory within their organization.

(Via: The Scout Report, Volume 12, Number 20, May 19, 2006)

Indian Institute of Astrophysics Repository

Indian Institute of Astrophysics Repository is the digital repository of publications of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India, developed to capture, disseminate and preserve research publications of IIAP. You can search, browse and access full text of these publications from the repository. This Repository also hosts papers published in Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India.

[Contents of IIAP Repository]

IIAP Repository contains full text of research publications and Ph.d theses of individuals from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. In addition, this repository also hosts papers from the journal Bulletin of the Astronomical Society India from Vol. 1, 1973. Presently journal articles, conference papers and preprints can be submitted to this repository and we invite all the researches to send the soft copy of your papers to library@iiap.res.in or chris@iiap.res.in and we will take care of uploading the papers into the repository.

Recently we have included Archival collection as another community in the repository. This Archival collection will include the various archival materials belonging to 18th,19th, & 20th century available in the Institute. These materials are in the form of hand-written manuscripts, photographs, Annual Reports and instruments and their descriptions. The full text of research publications of our directors of Madras Observatory and Kodaikanal Observatory will also be part of this archival collection.

[About Indian Institute of Astrophysics]

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is a premier national centre devoted to research in astronomy, astrophysics and related physics. It traces its origin back to an observatory set up in 1786 at Madras which from the year 1792 began to formally function at its Nungambakkam premises as the Madras Observatory. With headquarters at Bangalore, the Institute's laboratories are currently active at Kodaikanal,Kavalur, Gauribidanur,Hanle and Hosakote.

Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics

In January of 2006, the Optical Society of America (OSA) launched the Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics.

[About Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics]

The Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics (ISSN: 1931-1532) consists of selected articles recently published in OSA's peer-reviewed journals. For the virtual journal, biomedical optics is considered to include research involving the interface between light and medicine or biology. Articles are selected by the editor, Dr. Gregory W. Faris, on the basis of relevancy using OCIS codes and abstract keywords.

Each issue comprises articles published in the source journals during the previous month. Thus the February virtual journal issue features articles originally published in January. Additional content such as editorials, meeting announcements, tutorials and reviews, and articles from other publications will also be solicited and published as the virtual journal expands its scope over time.

Citations to articles in the Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics should be made to the original source journals.

[About OSA]

Founded in 1916, the Optical Society of America (OSA) was organized to increase and diffuse the knowledge of optics, pure and applied; to promote the common interests of investigators of optical problems, of designers and of users of optical apparatus of all kinds; and to encourage cooperation among them. The purposes of the Society are scientific, technical and educational. Read more at...

Nano Circuit Makes Debut

BBC News (March 24, 2006) reported that IBM and academic researchers in Florida have created the first computer circuit built on a single molecule.

It was assembled on a single carbon nanotube, a standard component of any nanotechnologist's toolkit.

The circuit is less than a fifth of the width of a human hair and can only be seen through an electron microscope.

Read more...

Physics Today Offers RSS Feed

Physics Today offers a RSS feed.

For the Case community, Physics Today is available in the Kelvin Smith Library for your pleasure and research. Various points of electronic access can also be located from Case's E-Journal Portal.

American Physical Society Offers RSS Feeds

The American Physical Society offers RSS feeds highlighting new articles in its many journals. The APS journals include Physical Review (A-E), Physical Review Letters, and Review of Modern Physics.

arXiv.org e-Print Archive

Hosted by Cornell University, arXiv.org is an e-print service in the fields of physics, mathematics, non-linear science, computer science, and quantitative biology. As of February 27, 2006, it contained over 350,000 e-prints. The major subject categories are broken down into more specific subjects that allow the user to find papers of relevance to their research. Abstracts can be viewed in html and the full papers are available in PDF. RSS feeds are available for individual archives and categories.

New Blog - Physics Information Fluency

Patricia T. Viele, Physics & Astronomy Librarian at Cornell University, has started a new blog, Physics Information Fluency. The goal of her blog is to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas about adding information fluency to physics curriculum.

Science's 10 Most Beautiful Experiments

Make: Technology on Your Time blog announced the 10 Most Beautiful Experiments web site that introduces, with descriptions and animations, the items that are beautiful to physicists.

While there, you can explore the information and animations of various physical processes that are demonstrated.

Exploring Women in Physics - International Conference Proceedings Free Online

From the ACRL Science & Technology Section Discussion List (STS-L) and George S. Porter:

The IUPAP, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, has sponsored two international conferences examining the difficulties and successes involved in "...recruiting, retaining, and promoting women physicists worldwide." The proceedings volumes from these conferences are freely available online through the efforts of the American Institute of Physics. Print copies can be purchased from Springer, the same as any other AIP conference proceedings volumes.

WOMEN IN PHYSICS: Second IUPAP International Conference on Women in
Physics (AIP Conference Proceedings Volume 795)
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 23-25 May 2005

WOMEN IN PHYSICS: The IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics (AIP Conference Proceedings Volume 628)
Paris (France), 7-9 March, 2002

Scientific Inquiries of Physicists

Studies like this could have great implications on how scientific students are educated in the future.

Analysis of the Actual Scientific Inquiries of Physicists I - Focused on research motivation
By Jongwon Park and Kyoung-ae Jang (June 27, 2005)

This study was investigated to understand the in-depth features and processes of physicists' scientific inquiries. At first, research motives were investigated by interviewing six physicists who were prominent worldwide. As a result, three main types - incompleteness, discovery, and conflict - and nine subtypes of research motivation, were identified. Six additional background factors were found which might affect the design and start of research. Based on these findings, implications for teaching scientific inquiries to students were discussed.

Recommendations for Graduate Education in Physics

The American Physical Society (APS) has issued the Report of the Joint APS-AAPT Task Force on Graduate Education in Physics (October 2005). It is an examination of the current status of graduate education in physics with recommendations for improvement in the curricula. Find other reports about graduate education on the APS web site.

The report provides a nice history and snapshot of graduate physics education in the U.S. with its many tables and graphs.

Einstein Light

The Scout Report (Volume 11, Number 44, November 4, 2005) shared a web site called Einstein Light.

[From the Scout Report]

The basic mission of the Einstein Light site is to present a brief overview of Einstein’s theory of relativity and its relationship to the work done by Galileo and Newton. This of course means they must address such thorny topics as time dilation and length contraction.

The web site uses a combination of flash modules, explainations with or without the use of mathematics, and related links. The web site was created by the University New South Wales, and has endorsements from Science and Scientific American magazines.

New Open Access Physics Title

Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research has published its first issue.

The criteria for acceptance of articles will include the high scholarly and technical standards of our other Physical Review journals. The scope of the journal will cover the full range of experimental and theoretical research on the teaching and/or learning of physics. Review articles, replication studies, descriptions of the development and use of new assessment tools, presentation of research techniques, and methodology comparisons/critiques are welcomed.

Thomson Scientific Laureates

Thomson Scientific, based on total citation counts from its ISI Web of Knowledge product, has predicted the 2005 Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, economics, physiology or medicine, and physics.

(Originally posted by Bob Michaelson on the STS-L listserv.)

Information Bridge - Department of Energy

The Information Bridge provides free access to full-text and bibliographic records of the Department of Energy research and development reports in physics, chemistry, materials, biology, environmental sciences, energy technologies, engineering, computer and information science, renewable energy, and other topics.

[From Information Bridge web site]
The Information Bridge consists of full-text documents produced and made available by the Department of Energy National Laboratories and grantees from 1995 forward. Additional legacy documents are also included as they become available in electronic format.

Publishing Relationship in Chemistry & Physics

William W. Armstrong wrote a great article (Communication in the Sciences as Seen through Physics and Chemistry: A Look at the Complex Relationship between Author, Publisher, and Distributor as They Relate to the Reader) on the exploration of the publishing process in the chemistry and physics academic environment. It appeared in the March 2005 issue of College & Research Libraries (American Library Association).

The Case community can find the article at several of the Case Libraries.

Institute of Physics offers RSS feeds

The Institute of Physics (IOP) offers several RSS feeds, including event postings, job postings, several regular features, recent news, and product information. In addition, a large selection of journal titles and recent article publications may be monitored by RSS feed.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the leading international professional body promoting physics research. [About the Institute of Physics]