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Cover: How hard is it to build a replacement for the human hand? Currently the best prosthetic hands look like pincers and have limited functional capabilities. A research program by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to build smarter upper-limb prostheses may change that (see page 24). Proto 2, shown, has a mechanical frame with 22 joints controlled by 11 tendons, along with pressure-, vibration-, joint-, and heat-sensing capabilities that connect to the wearer's neural system. Proto 2 can pick up an egg without breaking it, or throw a ball. (Image courtesy of New World Associates, Inc.)

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Physics Today -- September 2006

Volume 59, Issue 9, pp. 8-104

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  • ARTICLES
  • REFERENCE FRAME
  • LETTERS
  • SEARCH AND DISCOVERY
  • ISSUES AND EVENTS
  • MEETINGS
  • BOOKS
  • NEW PRODUCTS
  • WE HEAR THAT
  • OBITUARIES
  • QUICK STUDY
  • BACK SCATTER
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    ARTICLES

      Science-Based Cleanup of Rocky Flats
      The chemical and physical interactions of radioactive compounds are key to understanding how they can contaminate the environment and, more importantly, how best to remove them.
      David L. Clark1, David R. Janecky1, and Leonard J. Lane2
      pp. 34-40
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (868 kB)  ]   

      A Look at Physics in Cuba
      Some people might believe that the history of physics in Cuba is like that of many other countries, except for the Soviet influence on a socialist country during the cold war. The full story is very different.
      Angelo Baracca1, Víctor Fajer2, and Carlos Rodríguez2
      pp. 42-48
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (1154 kB)  ]   

      Fermi and Pooh: A Strange Mix
      Some beloved children's characters played an unexpected role in the science of Enrico Fermi.
      Denise DeGarmo
      pp. 49-50
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (318 kB)  ]   

      From the Archives: The Stability of the Bicycle
      Tired of quantum electrodynamics, Brillouin zones, Regge poles? Try this old, unsolved problem in dynamics: How does a bike work?
      David E. H. Jones
      pp. 51-56
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (1655 kB)  ]   

    REFERENCE FRAME

    LETTERS

    SEARCH AND DISCOVERY

      Tiny Oscillating Circuit Exhibits New Quantization of Electrical Conductance
      Remarkably, the conductance of a coherent RC circuit keeps the same quantized value even when the resistor is widened to let through more electrons.
      Charles Day
      pp. 16-18
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (282 kB)  ]   

      Neural-Network Model May Explain the Surprisingly Good Infrared Vision of Snakes
      The pit organs of rattlesnakes and their cousins are infrared pinhole cameras of very poor optical quality. That presents something of a paradox in view of the snakes' demonstrated skill as night hunters.
      Bertram Schwarzschild
      pp. 18-20
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (327 kB)  ]   

      Nuclear Spin Polarization Induced Solely by a Rotating Magnetic Field
      The effect is so small that its experimental measurement had to await today's sensitive detectors.
      Barbara Goss Levi
      pp. 20-23
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (448 kB)  ]   

    ISSUES AND EVENTS

      DARPA Joins Industry, Academia to Build Better Prosthetic Arms
      Can a prosthetic arm react and behave like a biological arm? A crash program to help disabled US soldiers may give an answer within the next two years.
      Paul Guinnessy
      pp. 24-25
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (191 kB)  ]   

      NASA Saves SOFIA by Slashing Planet-Finding Funds
      A US-German telescope will fly high to observe the infrared sky.
      Toni Feder
      pp. 25-26
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (154 kB)  ]   

      Portugal Builds on Renewables Effort with $78M Solar Plant
      A sun-powered system, part of a push to develop more sources of renewable energy, could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 000 tons annually.
      Karen H. Kaplan
      pp. 27-28
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (177 kB)  ]   

      Nasa Aeronautics Lacks Money, Relevance, NRC Says
      Jim Dawson
      pp. 29-30
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (179 kB)  ]   

      Singapore, Slovakia Host High-School Physics Competitions
      Toni Feder
      p. 31
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (185 kB)  ]   

    MEETINGS

      AVS Annual Symposium, Industrial Physics Forum have Broad Appeal

      pp. 57-58
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (118 kB)  ]   

    BOOKS

      New Books

      pp. 64-69
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (485 kB)  ]   

    NEW PRODUCTS

    WE HEAR THAT

      Grove is AGU President-Elect

      p. 76
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (205 kB)  ]   

      Perlmutter Wins Feltrinelli Prize

      p. 76
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (205 kB)  ]   

    OBITUARIES

    QUICK STUDY

    BACK SCATTER

      The Birth of Electrostatics

      p. 104
      Abstract    Full Text: [ HTML   PDF (170 kB)  ]   

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