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• Gedanken experiment: Levitate a physics sitcom?
  Points of View
• Nanoplasmonics: The physics behind the applications
  February 2011
• Half-quantum vortices
  Physics Update
• Quantum criticality
  February 2011

New books

geophysics

Arrays and Array Methods in Global Seismology. Y. J. Gu, ed. Springer, New York, 2010. $109.00 (273 pp.). ISBN 978-90-481-3679-7  Buy at Amazon

Geophysical Hazards: Minimizing Risk, Maximizing Awareness. T. Beer, ed. International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, New York, 2010. $129.00 (262 pp.). ISBN 978-90-481-3235-5  Buy at Amazon

Introduction to Numerical Geodynamic Modelling. T. V. Gerya. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2010. $70.00 (345 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-88754-0  Buy at Amazon

Landform—Structure, Evolution, Process Control: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Landform Organised by the Research Training Group 437. J.-C. Otto, R. Dikau, eds. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 115. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $149.00 (258 pp.). ISBN 978-3-540-75760-3  Buy at Amazon

Stochastic Physics and Climate Modelling. T. Palmer, P. Williams, eds. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2010. $150.00 (480 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-76105-5  Buy at Amazon

history and philosophy

Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda. J. Mueller. Oxford U. Press, New York, 2010. $27.95 (319 pp.). ISBN 978-0-19-538136-8  Buy at Amazon

The Babylonian Theorem: The Mathematical Journey to Pythagoras and Euclid. P. S. Rudman. Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY, 2010. $26.00 (248 pp.). ISBN 978-1-59102-773-7  Buy at Amazon

Cosmic Noise: A History of Early Radio Astronomy. W. T. Sullivan III. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2009. $140.00 (542 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-76524-4  Buy at Amazon

Crafting the Quantum: Arnold Sommerfeld and the Practice of Theory, 1890–1926. S. Seth. Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2010. $32.00 (378 pp.). ISBN 978-0-262-01373-4  Buy at Amazon

Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius. S. S. Schweber. Harvard U. Press, Cambridge, MA, 2009 [2008, reissued]. $18.95 paper (412 pp.). ISBN 978-0-674-03452-5  Buy at Amazon

Erich Hückel (1896–1980): From Physics to Quantum Chemistry. A. Karachalios (translated from German by A. M. Hentschel). Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science 283. Springer, New York, 2010. $139.00 (200 pp.). ISBN 978-90-481-3559-2  Buy at Amazon

Evolution: The Modern Synthesis. Definitive ed. J. Huxley. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2010 [1942]. $35.00 paper (770 pp.). ISBN 978-0-262-51366-1  Buy at Amazon

From Clockwork to Crapshoot: A History of Physics. R. G. Newton. Belknap Press/Harvard U. Press, Cambridge, MA, 2010 [2007, reissued]. $17.95 paper (340 pp.). ISBN 978-0-674-03487-7  Buy at Amazon

The Great Ocean of Truth: Memories of “Hudson-70”, the First Circumnavigation of the Americas. P. Wadhams. Melrose Books/Melrose Press, Cambridgeshire, UK, 2009. $25.85 paper (378 pp.). ISBN 978-1-907040-30-6  Buy at Amazon

Heisenberg in the Atomic Age: Science and the Public Sphere. C. Carson. Publications of the German Historical Institute. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2010. $80.00 (541 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-82170-4  Buy at Amazon

The Life of Stars: The Controversial Inception and Emergence of the Theory of Stellar Structure. G. Shaviv. Hebrew University Magnes Press, Jersusalem, and Springer, Berlin, 2009. $129.00 (504 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-02087-2  Buy at Amazon

Manhattan Project to the Santa Fe Institute: The Memoirs of George A. Cowan. G. A. Cowan. U. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 2010. $27.95 (175 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8263-4870-8  Buy at Amazon

On Fact and Fraud: Cautionary Tales from the Front Lines of Science. D. Goodstein. Princeton U. Press, Princeton, NJ, 2010. $22.95 (168 pp.). ISBN 978-0-691-13966-1  Buy at Amazon

Women in Early British and Irish Astronomy: Stars and Satellites. M. Brück. Springer, New York, 2009. $129.00 (277 pp.). ISBN 978-90-481-2472-5  Buy at Amazon

instrumentation and techniques

LACAME 2008. J. Desimoni et al., eds. Proc. conf., La Plata, Argentina, Nov. 2008. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $189.00 (280 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-10763-4  Buy at Amazon

Materials Science with Ion Beams. H. Bernas, ed. Topics in Applied Physics 116. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $209.00 (376 pp.). ISBN 978-3-540-88788-1  Buy at Amazon

The Physics of Metrology: All About Instruments, from Trundle Wheels to Atomic Clocks. A. J. Hebra. Springer, New York, 2010. $139.00 (383 pp.). ISBN 978-3-211-78380-1  Buy at Amazon

Reviews of Accelerator Science and Technology. Vol. 2: Medical Applications of Accelerators. A. W. Chao, W. Chou, eds. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2009. $108.00 (312 pp.). ISBN 978-981-4299-34-3  Buy at Amazon

Single Molecule Spectroscopy in Chemistry, Physics and Biology: Nobel Symposium. A. Gräslund, R. Rigler, J. Widengren, eds. Springer Series in Chemical Physics 96. Proc. symp., Stockholm, June 2008. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $179.00 (572 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-02596-9  Buy at Amazon

Solid-State Spectroscopy: An Introduction. 2nd ed. H. Kuzmany. Springer, Berlin, 2009 [1998]. $99.00 (554 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-01478-9  Buy at Amazon

WIRMS 2009: 5th International Workshop on Infrared Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Accelerator Based Sources. A. Predoi-Cross, B. E. Billinghurst, eds. AIP Conference Proceedings 1214. Proc. wksp., Banff, AB, Canada, Sept. 2009. AIP, Melville, NY, 2010. $107.00 (113 pp.). ISBN 978-0-7354-0757-2  Buy at Amazon

materials science

Basic Semiconductor Physics. 2nd ed. C. Hamaguchi. Springer, Berlin, 2010 [2001]. $99.00 (570 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-03302-5  Buy at Amazon

Bonds and Bands in Semiconductors. 2nd ed. J. C. Phillips, G. Lucovsky. Momentum Press, New York, 2010 [1973]. $89.95 (318 pp.). ISBN 978-1-60650-133-7  Buy at Amazon

Diffuse X-Ray Scattering and Models of Disorder. T. R. Welberry. IUCr Monographs on Crystallography 16. Oxford U. Press, New York, 2010 [2004, reissued]. $65.00 paper (266 pp.). ISBN 978-0-19-958381-2  Buy at Amazon

Electronic Structure and Magnetism of 3d-Transition Metal Pnictides. K. Motizuki, H. Ido, T. Itoh, M. Morifuji. Springer Series in Materials Science 131. Springer, Berlin, 2009. $129.00 (142 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-03419-0  Buy at Amazon

High-Temperature Superconductors. A. K. Saxena. Springer Series in Materials Science 125. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $159.00 (223 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-00711-8  Buy at Amazon

Introduction to Space Charge Effects in Semiconductors. K. W. Böer. Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences 160. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $159.00 (331 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-02235-7  Buy at Amazon

Introduction to Thermoelectricity. H. J. Goldsmid. Springer Series in Materials Science 121. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $129.00 (242 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-00715-6  Buy at Amazon

Laser-Surface Interactions for New Materials Production: Tailoring Structure and Properties. A. Miotello, P. M. Ossi, eds. Springer Series in Materials Science 130. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $159.00 (358 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-03306-3  Buy at Amazon

The Science of Construction Materials. P. F. Hansen; O. M. Jensen, ed. (translated from Danish by O. M. Jensen, K. Aakjær). Springer, Berlin, 2009. $169.00 (308 pp.). ISBN 978-3-540-70897-1  Buy at Amazon

Shock Wave Science and Technology Reference Library. Vol. 5: Non-Shock Initiation of Explosives. B. W. Asay, ed. Shock Wave Science and Technology Reference Library. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $179.00 (614 pp.). ISBN 978-3-540-87952-7  Buy at Amazon

Thermal Nanosystems and Nanomaterials. S. Volz, ed. Topics in Applied Physics 118. Springer, Berlin, 2009. $179.00 (587 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-04257-7  Buy at Amazon

miscellaneous

Evaluating Measurement Accuracy: A Practical Approach. S. G. Rabinovich. Springer, New York, 2010. $129.00 (271 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4419-1455-2  Buy at Amazon

TIME—From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics. D. D. McCarthy, P. K. Seidelmann. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2009. $145.00 (351 pp.). ISBN 978-3-527-40780-4  Buy at Amazon

nonlinear science and chaos

Probabilistic Boolean Networks: The Modeling and Control of Gene Regulatory Networks. I. Shmulevich, E. R. Dougherty. SIAM, Philadelphia, 2010. $59.00 paper (267 pp.). ISBN 978-0-898716-92-4  Buy at Amazon

A Shock-Fitting Primer. M. D. Salas. Chapman & Hall/CRC Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Science Series. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 2010. $129.95 (400 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4398-0758-3, CD-ROM  Buy at Amazon

nuclear physics

Isotope Effects: In the Chemical, Geological, and Bio Sciences. M. Wolfsberg, W. A. Van Hook, P. Paneth, L. P. N. Rebelo. Springer, New York, 2010. $199.00 (466 pp.). ISBN 978-90-481-2264-6  Buy at Amazon

Nuclear Physics Methods and Accelerators in Biology and Medicine. A. Dubnickova et al., eds. AIP Conference Proceedings 1204. Proc. sch., Bratislava, Slovak Republic, July 2009. AIP, Melville, NY, 2009. $149.00 (267 pp.). ISBN 978-0-7354-0741-1  Buy at Amazon

optics and photonics

The 2nd International Conference on Ultra-Intense Laser Interaction Science (ULIS 2009). A. Gamucci, A. Giulietti, L. Labate, eds. AIP Conference Proceedings 1209. Proc. conf., Frascati (Rome), Italy, May 2009. AIP, Melville, NY, 2010. $119.00 (152 pp.). ISBN 978-0-7354-0746-6  Buy at Amazon

Fiber Optics: Physics and Technology. F. Mitschke. Springer, Berlin, 2009. $99.00 (301 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-03702-3  Buy at Amazon

Integrated Silicon Optoelectronics. 2nd ed. H. Zimmermann. Springer Series in Optical Sciences 148. Springer, Berlin, 2010 [2000]. $159.00 (385 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-01520-5  Buy at Amazon

Lens Design Fundamentals. 2nd ed. R. Kingslake, R. B. Johnson. Academic Press/Elsevier, Burlington, MA, 2010 [1978]. $99.95 (549 pp.). ISBN 978-0-12-374301-5  Buy at Amazon

Modern Theory of Gratings: Resonant Scattering—Analysis Techniques and Phenomena. Y. K. Sirenko, S. Ström, eds. Springer Series in Optical Sciences 153. Springer, New York, 2010. $179.00 (390 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4419-1199-5  Buy at Amazon

Photonic Crystals: Physics and Practical Modeling. I. A. Sukhoivanov, I. V. Guryev. Springer Series in Optical Sciences 152. Springer, Berlin, 2009. $129.00 (242 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-02645-4  Buy at Amazon

Progress in Ultrafast Intense Laser Science V. K. Yamanouchi, A. Giulietti, K. Ledingham, eds. Springer Series in Chemical Physics 98. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $129.00 (212 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-03824-2  Buy at Amazon

particle physics

At the Leading Edge: The ATLAS and CMS LHC Experiments. D. Green, ed. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2010. $120.00, $58.00 paper (436 pp.). ISBN 978-981-4277-61-7, ISBN 978-981-4304-67-2 paper  Buy at Amazon

Group Theory for the Standard Model of Particle Physics and Beyond. K. J. Barnes. Series in High Energy Physics, Cosmology, and Gravitation. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 2010. $59.95 (241 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4200-7874-9  Buy at Amazon

Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference. M. L. Marshak, ed. AIP Conference Proceedings 1182. Proc. conf., San Diego, CA, May 2009. AIP, Melville, NY, 2009. $399.00 (975 pp.). ISBN 978-0-7354-0723-7  Buy at Amazon

Lepton Dipole Moments. B. L. Roberts, W. J. Marciano, eds. Advanced Series on Directions in High Energy Physics 20. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2010. $145.00 (757 pp.). ISBN 978-981-4271-83-7  Buy at Amazon

The Little Book of String Theory. S. S. Gubser. Science Essentials. Princeton U. Press, Princeton, NJ, 2010. $19.95 (174 pp.). ISBN 978-0-691-14289-0  Buy at Amazon

Murray Gell-Mann: Selected Papers. H. Fritzsch, ed. World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics 40. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2010. $105.00, $48.00 paper (449 pp.). ISBN 978-981-283-684-7, ISBN 978-981-4261-62-3 paper  Buy at Amazon

The Physics of the Quark–Gluon Plasma: Introductory Lectures. S. Sarkar, H. Satz, B. Sinha, eds. Lecture Notes in Physics 785. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $89.95 (369 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-02285-2  Buy at Amazon

Quantum Chromodynamics: Perturbative and Nonperturbative Aspects. B. L. Ioffe, V. S. Fadin, L. N. Lipatov. Cambridge Monographs on Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Cosmology 30. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2010. $180.00 (585 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-63148-8  Buy at Amazon

Quantum Chromodynamics on the Lattice: An Introductory Presentation. C. Gattringer, C. B. Lang. Lecture Notes in Physics 788. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $89.95 (343 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-01849-7  Buy at Amazon

Quark–Gluon Plasma 4. R. C. Hwa, X.-N. Wang, eds. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2010. $118.00 (437 pp.). ISBN 978-981-4293-28-0  Buy at Amazon

Self-Force and Inertia: Old Light on New Ideas. S. N. Lyle. Lecture Notes in Physics 796. Springer, Berlin, 2010. $89.95 (405 pp.). ISBN 978-3-642-04784-8  Buy at Amazon

popularizations

Antimatter. F. Close. Oxford U. Press, New York, 2010 [2009, reissued]. $12.95 paper (166 pp.). ISBN 978-0-19-957887-0  Buy at Amazon

The Battery: How Portable Power Sparked a Technological Revolution. H. Schlesinger. Smithsonian Books/ HarperCollins, New York, 2010. $25.99 (308 pp.). ISBN 978-0-06-144293-3  Buy at Amazon

Cremona Violins: A Physicist’s Quest for the Secrets of Stradivari. K. C. Wali. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, 2010. $49.00, $35.00 paper (157 pp.). ISBN 978-981-279-109-2,  ISBN 978-981-279-110-8 paper, DVD-ROM  Buy at Amazon

The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe. A. Ananthaswamy. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2010. $25.00 (322 pp.). ISBN 978-0-618-88468-1  Buy at Amazon

Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe. E. Gates. W. W. Norton, New York, 2010 [2009, reissued]. $16.95 paper (305 pp.). ISBN 978-0-393-33801-0  Buy at Amazon

From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time. S. Carroll. Dutton, New York, 2010. $26.95 (438 pp.). ISBN 978-0-525-95133-9  Buy at Amazon

Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler: Visiting Physics and Chemistry Sites Across America. D. S. Nickell. The Scientific Traveler. Rutgers U. Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 2010. $19.95 paper (258 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8135-4730-5  Buy at Amazon

Hollywood Science: Movies, Science, and the End of the World. S. Perkowitz. Columbia U. Press, New York, 2010 [2007, reissued]. $18.95 paper (255 pp.). ISBN 978-0-231-14281-6  Buy at Amazon

In Praise of Science: Curiosity, Understanding, and Progress. S. Bais. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2010. $24.95 (192 pp.). ISBN 978-0-262-01435-9  Buy at Amazon

Nuclear Weapons: What You Need to Know. J. Bernstein. Cambridge U. Press, New York, 2010 [2008, reissued]. $19.99 paper (299 pp.). ISBN 978-0-521-12637-3  Buy at Amazon

The Physics of Soccer: Using Math and Science to Improve Your Game. D. Badiru. iUniverse, Bloomington, IN, 2010. $32.95, $22.95 paper (296 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4401-9226-5, ISBN 978-1-4401-9224-1 paper  Buy at Amazon

A User’s Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes, and Quantum Uncertainty. D. Goldberg, J. Blomquist. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 2010. $24.95 (296 pp.). ISBN 978-0-470-49651-0  Buy at Amazon

Voyage to the Heart of Matter: The ATLAS Experiment at CERN. A. Radevsky, E. Sanders. Papadakis, Winterbourne, Berkshire, UK, 2009. $27.54 (8 pp.). ISBN 978-1-906506-06-3 pop-up book  Buy at Amazon

What If the Earth Had Two Moons? And Nine Other Thought-Provoking Speculations on the Solar System. N. F. Comins. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2010. $26.99 (288 pp.). ISBN 978-0-312-59892-1  Buy at Amazon

A Zeptospace Odyssey: A Journey into the Physics of the LHC. G. F. Giudice. Oxford U. Press, New York, 2010. $45.00 (276 pp.). ISBN 978-0-19-958191-7  Buy at Amazon

space and planetary science

At the Edge of the Solar System: Icy New Worlds Unveiled. A. Doressoundiram, E. Lellouch (translated from French by B. Mizon). Springer-Praxis Books in Popular Astronomy. Praxis/Springer, New York, 2010. $34.95 paper (205 pp.). ISBN 978-1-4419-0864-3  Buy at Amazon