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Cover: Benjamin Franklin was born on 17 January 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. To celebrate the 300th anniversary of his birth, we feature articles that focus on two of his scientific interests. Starting on page 36, Joost Mertens considers Franklin's explorations of the calming effects of oil on water. Those investigations, it turns out, had a less than calming effect on Dutch scholars. On page 42, Philip Krider presents Franklin's work on electricity and the development of the lightning rod. (Photo courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office, Goodland, Kansas.)

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Physics Today -- January 2006

Volume 59, Issue 1, pp. 9-74

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  • ARTICLES
  • PHYSICS UPDATE
  • REFERENCE FRAME
  • LETTERS
  • SEARCH AND DISCOVERY
  • ISSUES AND EVENTS
  • BOOKS
  • NEW PRODUCTS
  • WE HEAR THAT
  • OBITUARIES
    •

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    ARTICLES

      Oil on Troubled Waters: Benjamin Franklin and the Honor of Dutch Seamen
      Men who worked at sea knew of the calming effects of oil on water long before Franklin began his investigations. Was their practical knowledge any different from the later scientific knowledge of the learned?
      Joost Mertens
      pp. 36-41
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (429 kB)  ]   

      Benjamin Franklin and Lightning Rods
      Franklin's work on electricity and lightning earned him worldwide fame and respect—ideal assets for brokering aid from France during the American Revolution.
      E. Philip Krider
      pp. 42-48
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (521 kB)  ]   

      Vehicle Design and the Physics of Traffic Safety
      Light trucks cannot safely coexist with passenger cars under existing conditions. The problem becomes particularly urgent as more and more light trucks are used simply as car substitutes.
      Marc Ross, Deena Patel, and Tom Wenzel
      pp. 49-54
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (783 kB)  ]   

    PHYSICS UPDATE

    REFERENCE FRAME

    LETTERS

    SEARCH AND DISCOVERY

      Electrons in Atomically Thin Carbon Sheets Behave Like Massless Particles
      Traditionally found in particle-physics and cosmology contexts, the relativistic Dirac equation also describes how electrons move in a unique two-dimensional condensed matter system, graphene.
      Mark Wilson
      pp. 21-23
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (168 kB)  ]   

      Densely Packed Positronium Atoms Interact Chemically
      For the first time, experimenters have seen atoms made from an electron and a positron exchange spins and perhaps form diatomic molecules.
      Steven K. Blau
      pp. 23-26
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (289 kB)  ]   

      Optical Trap Resolves the Stepwise Transfer of Genetic Information from DNA to RNA
      The assembly of RNA can now be tracked with a precision finer than the distance between its bases.
      Charles Day
      pp. 26-27
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (141 kB)  ]   

    ISSUES AND EVENTS

      Basic Science Funding Flat, as War, Deficit, and Hurricane Recovery Squeeze Federal Budget
      Most R&D agencies barely held their own in yet another year of modest science funding. A proposed across-the-board 2% cut could push many science programs into the red.
      Jim Dawson
      pp. 28-30
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (92 kB)  ]   

      Mauna Kea Telescopes Step Up Collaborations
      Tight budgets and pricey instruments are spurring a trend among observatories to swap time. To work, though, cultural, technical, financial, and administrative wrinkles need to be ironed out.
      Toni Feder
      pp. 30-32
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (139 kB)  ]   

      Probing Dark Energy Through Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
      Toni Feder
      p. 32
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (81 kB)  ]   

      Evolution Wins in Pennsylvania, Loses in Kansas
      A slate of “real-world” candidates swept the intelligent design majority off the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board, while in Kansas antievolutionists not only weakened science standards, but redefined science itself.
      Jim Dawson
      pp. 32-33
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (114 kB)  ]   

    BOOKS

    NEW PRODUCTS

    WE HEAR THAT

      Winners of National Medals of Science, Technology Named

      p. 67
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (91 kB)  ]   

      Mineral Physicists Win Balzan Prize

      pp. 67-68
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (127 kB)  ]   

    OBITUARIES

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