The Analogy between Light and Sound in the History of Optics from the ancient Greeks to Isaac Newton. Part 2†

Analogies between hearing and seeing already existed in ancient Greek theories of perception. The present paper follows the evolution of such analogies until the rise of 17th century optics, with due regard to the diversity of their origins and nature but with particular emphasis on their bearing on the physical concepts of light and sound. Whereas the old Greek analogies were only side effects of the unifying concepts of perception, the analogies of the 17th century played an important role in constructing optical theories by imitation of acoustic theories, or vice versa. This transition depended on several factors including the changing relations between optics, music, mathematics, and physics, the diversity of early modern concepts of sound, and the rise of a new physics based on experimentation and mechanical explanation.     

Paul Erman: Experimentelle Elektrizitätsforschung zwischen romantischer Naturphilosophie und aufgeklärtem Rationalismus

Paul Erman was the first professor of physics at the University of Berlin, founded in 1810. He was an outspoken opponent of romantic physics and especially of sciences like mesmerism, which was popular at the periphery of romantic philosophy. In the introduction a short biography of Erman is given, followed by a presentation of his position towards Romanticism. As will be shown, Erman didn’t criticize the ideas about the unity of nature, the concept of polarity or the use of analogies by romantic physicists, but instead used these in his own research. Nevertheless he was well aware of the limitations of such concepts and often warned against an overestimation of their power. In the last part of the essay Erman’s electrophysiological research is examined. He developed research strategies which aimed towards a positivistic physiology. This became the dominant approach to physiology especially in Germany in the later 19th century.     

Continuity and Discontinuity of Collaboration Behaviour since 1800 — from a Bibliometric Point of View

Time-series of collaboration trends indicated through co-authorships are examined from 1800 to presence in mathematics, logic, and physics. In physics, the share of co-authored papers expands in the second half of the19th century, in mathematics in the first decades of the 20th century, in logic in the second half of the 20th century. Subdisciplines of mathematics, of physics, and areas of logic show large differences in their respective propensities to collaborate. None of the existing explanatory approaches meets this heterogeneity; the most salient feature is a propensitiy to collaborate in fields where theoretical and applied research is combined. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Parity-Time Symmetry in Non-Hermitian Complex Optical Media

The exploration of quantum-inspired symmetries in optical and photonic systems has witnessed immense research interest both fundamentally and technologically in a wide range of subject areas in physics and engineering. One of the principal emerging fields in this context is non-Hermitian physics based on parity-time symmetry, originally proposed in the studies pertaining to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory and recently ramified into a diverse set of areas, particularly in optics and photonics. The intriguing physical effects enabled by non-Hermitian physics and PT symmetry have enhanced significant application prospects and engineering of novel materials. In addition, there has been increasing research interest in many emerging directions beyond optics and photonics. Here, the state-of-the art developments in the field of complex non-Hermitian physics based on PT symmetry in various physical settings are brought together, and key concepts, a background, and a detailed perspective on new emerging directions are described. It can be anticipated that this trendy field of interest will be indispensable in providing new perspectives in maneuvering the flow of light in the diverse physical platforms in optics, photonics, condensed matter, optoelectronics, and beyond, and will offer distinctive application prospects in novel functional materials.     

Some fundamental analogies between solid,molten and aqueous materials: application of the concepts of energy levels and the band theory of solids

An interaction of electrochemical ideas with the approaches of solid state physics provides some interesting analogies and themes in which certain aspects of electrolyte solutions, solid semiconductors and ionic liquids can be discussed in a somewhat inter-related manner. Some of the fundamental properties of this wide range of materials (solid semiconductors, molten salts or aqueous (electrolyte) solutions) may be unified into a loose theme derived from the general notions of the band theory of solids and its analogue in electrolyte solutions, namely, the electron and proton levels of electrolytes. The concepts which would describe the intermeshing behaviour of these materials will be derived from: the band theory of semi-conductors; Gurney's ideas on the occupied and vacant proton levels in electrolyte solutions; Rose's approach to the electron energy levels in solids and electrolytes; Fuller's views on the conceptual analogies between semiconductors and electrolyte solutions; interpretation of molten salts put forward by Bockris and co-workers; and, finally, the industrial applications of Gurney's ideas made by Vermilyea in his interpretations of the corrosion of aluminium in water and the effect of various inhibitors on this corrosion reaction.     

Structural design in the eighteenth century: James Essex and the roof of Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House

The design of novel structural forms can happen either by a process of trial and error supported by testing, or by adopting some conceptual model of structural behaviour. These conceptual models are often simple analogies rather than sophisticated abstractions. This paper provides a case study of one particular example; a method used in the design of an unusually large roof structure during the eighteenth century. The study is a contribution from historical materials to the ‘natural history’ of design.     

The intertwined history of polarimetry and ellipsometry

Ellipsometry and reflection polarimetry are almost synonymous. Therefore it is not surprising that ellipsometry and polarimetry share a common history which is that of optical polarization. The discoveries in the late 1600s by Bartholinus and Huyghens of double refraction by Iceland spar and the unusual properties of the twin beams thus generated presented insurmountable difficulties for the entrenched corpuscular-ray theory of Newton and caused research on polarization to remain stagnant in the 1700s. Major breakthroughs came in the early 1800s when Malus discovered polarization of light by reflection and his cosine-squared law and Fresnel and Arago enunciated their laws of interference of polarized light that helped establish the transverse vector nature of luminous vibrations. Important further research immediately followed on optical rotatory power by Arago, Biot, and Pasteur that ushered fundamental and practical applications of polarimetry in chemistry and biology. Fresnel deserves to be recognized as a founder of ellipsometry by virtue of his laws of reflection of polarized light at interfaces between dissimilar media and his identification and production of circular and elliptical polarization. The later part of the 19th century witnessed significant discoveries of magneto-optic and electro-optic effects by Faraday, Kerr, and Pockels that greatly enriched polarization optics and physics. The 1896 discovery of the Zeeman effect launched the exciting field of solar polarimetry. The 1864 crown achievement of Maxwell's electromagnetic (EM) theory provided a unified framework for the analysis of polarization phenomena across the entire EM spectrum.     

Seventeenth-century telescope optics of Torricelli, Divini, and Campani

Optics of telescope makers Torricelli, Divini, and Campani dating back to the 17th century have been tested interferometrically. It was found that the optical polishing technology had progressed to thorough control over the surface figure and finish, while the nearly paraxial conditions of the aperture remained constant. The instruments that were examined exemplify the knowledge of optics of that time, particularly with respect to the early use of erector units in terrestrial telescopes.     

计量与数理的关系及分形维应用研究

在重点综述数学中抽象空间、物理学中能观测量和计量单位或单位制的相互关系基础上,探索并整理出各学科共同依赖的某些基本准则或公理,以便建立一个较为完整的广义科学框架或系统描绘现存的学科基石.在此基础上,为提供现有科学新的分类和启迪新的科学研究方法和探索自然奥秘提供新的综合手段达到抛砖引玉的目的.除此以外,作为近代数学对较复杂事物计量分析的应用例,提出微观粒子的太极模型分形维.     

The Nobel prize in physics - regularities and tendencies

Various distributions of the Nobel laureates in physics in the 20th century and their discoveries are considered. It is shown that the time-interval between the discovery and its recognition can be approximately described by a lognormal distribution. The ratio of the numbers of laureates awarded for the experimental and the theoretical discoveries was rather different in various decades; this was determined by some “waves” of discoveries and in the initial period probably by some subjective factors. The probability to obtain this prize for the theorist is larger than for the experimenter. The main part of the awards was given to the scientists working in the main fields of modern physics: small distances and solid state physics. Some fields of physics such as mathematical physics, relativity, statistical physics were ignored completely. The worrying tendency of an increasing average age of laureates towards their retirement age is indicated. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A historical and political epistemology of microbes

This article traces the historical co-evolution of microbiology, bacteriology, and virology, framed within industrial and agricultural contexts, as well as their role in colonial and national history between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. The epistemology of germ theory, coupled with the economic interests of European colonies, has shaped the understanding of human-microbial relationships in a reductionist way. We explore a brief history of the medical and biological sciences, focusing on microbes and the difficulty of implementing germ theory outside of biology laboratories. Furthermore, we highlight the work of Lynn Margulis, who conceptualized microbes within their ecological contexts. Such research shows the active role microbes play in handling life-sustaining biological and biochemical processes. We outline how the industrial and technological advancements of the last two centuries not only impacted almost all human societies, but also changed the world on microbial, biological, and geological levels. The narration of these histories is a complex task, and depends on how national, international, and intergovernmental institutions (such as the World Health Organization) conceive of the selective environmental pressures exerted by industry and biotechnological companies.     

Neural networks research in context: A longitudinal journal cocitation analysis of an emerging interdisciplinary field

A cocitation analysis for thirty-six journals and other publications in neural networks research and related disciplines was conducted over three consecutive time periods spanning the years 1990-early 1997. Cluster analysis and MDS maps identified groupings representing foundation research areas (physics/optics, computer engineering, neuroscience, expert systems & cognition, and perception) along with neural networks and mathematical modeling of neural systems. Principal components analysis demonstrated a similar structure, with several journals and books loading on a majority of the factors. An INDSCAL analysis showed an increasing separation between natural sciences/psychology and engineering/neural networks research from the first time period to the third.     

Physics 1800–1900: A quantitative outline

The authors utilize the index of theCatalogue of Scientific Papers of theRoyal Society of London dealing with the physics journal literature of the 19th century. Graphs of the publication activity of the entire 19th-century physics and of a bout 50 of its most important subareas are displayed; both the number of active contributors in each area, the number of papers and its share of publications of the entire 19th century physics are exhibited. Typical scientometric regularities such as “Lotka’s law” (with regard to the number of papers and the number of areas treated by physicists) are confirmed. In addition, the shares of the leading countries of important physical discoveries in the 19th century are studied.     

纳米材料及其技术的应用前景

纳米材料由于其独特的表面效应,体积效应以及量子尺寸效应,使得材料的电学、力学、磁学、光学等性能产生了尺人的变化。纳米在精细陶瓷、微电子学、生物工程、化工、医学等领域的成功应用及其广阔的应用前景,使人米材料及其技术成为目前科学研究的热点之一次,被认为是２１世纪的又一次产业革命。     

科学研究方法论

主要讨论在科学研究工作中如何获得创新性成果的方法．全文分为两部份，即理论研究和实验研究。理论研究部分论述物理学中的概念和符号体系、物理定律及其表示形式、物理理论及其判据；实验研究部分强调实验研究在创造性科研中的重要意义、论述实验时实验者的思维活动、介绍作者本人常采用的一个思维方法，以及捕捉创新概念的各种方法。从1954年起，这些方法先后帮助作者在电子发射、真空物理、真空测量、气体激光、激光测量、统计物理、铁轨几何参量在线测量等领域，取得了范围较广泛的创造性成果。     

Optimization of star-oriented and layer-oriented wavefront sensing concepts for ground layer adaptive optics

Multiconjugate adaptive optics is one of the major challenges in adaptive optics. It requires the measurement of the volumic distribution of the turbulence. Two wavefront sensing (WFS) concepts have been proposed to perform the wavefront analysis for such systems: the star-oriented and layer-oriented approaches. We give a performance analysis and a comparison of these two concepts in the framework of the simplest of the multi-guide-star adaptive optics systems, that is, ground layer adaptive optics. A phase-related criterion is proposed to assess analytically the performance of both concepts. This study highlights the main advantages and drawbacks of each WFS concept and shows how it is possible to optimize the concepts with respect to the signal to noise ratio on the phase measurement. A comparison of their optimized versions is provided and shows that one can expect very similar performance with the two optimized concepts.     

Ludwik Flecks Gestaltbegriff und sein Blick auf die Gestaltpsychologie seiner Zeit

The notion of ‘Gestalt’ plays a prominent role in Ludwik Fleck’s theory of thought styles. This paper scrutinizes how Fleck adopted the concepts and even methods of Gestalt psychology that he sometimes vaguely refers to. Systematically comparing the argumentation and theoretical outlines of Fleck’s social theory of perception and the principles of some Gestalt theories, this article will show and discuss their similarities and fundamental differences. According to Fleck, both science and individual perception rest on social actions and cultural traditions. In particular, Fleck emphasized the relevance of the common language and collective meanings for the shaping of objects according to the thought style of a scientific collective. In contrast to the principles of Gestalt theories, in Fleck’s view not only the perception, but also the constitution of scientific objects and even the ‘laws’ of perception depend on social and cultural constructions of reality. That leads him to a particular theory of Gestalt perception.     

Magnetoelastic metamaterials

The study of advanced artificial electromagnetic materials, known as metamaterials, provides a link from material science to theoretical and applied electrodynamics, as well as to electrical engineering. Being initially intended mainly to achieve negative refraction, the concept of metamaterials quickly covered a much broader range of applications, from microwaves to optics and even acoustics. In particular, nonlinear metamaterials established a new research direction giving rise to fruitful ideas for tunable and active artificial materials. Here we introduce the concept of magnetoelastic metamaterials, where a new type of nonlinear response emerges from mutual interaction. This is achieved by providing a mechanical degree of freedom so that the electromagnetic interaction in the metamaterial lattice is coupled to elastic interaction. This enables the electromagnetically induced forces to change the metamaterial structure, dynamically tuning its effective properties. This concept leads to a new generation of metamaterials, and can be compared to such fundamental concepts of modern physics as optomechanics of photonic structures or magnetoelasticity in magnetic materials.     

Wave Theory for a Simple Lens

A new wave theory describing image formation by a simple lens is formulated in the angular spectrum representation. It is closely related to Luneburg's theory of instrumental optics but is free of certain geometrical approximations made in his theory. The validity of Luneburg's essentially geometrical treatment of the lens aperture is discussed and the approximations involved are found to be justified for isoplanatic optical systems with small numerical aperture. Some concepts usually found in lens theories based on geometrical optics are seen to have analogues in the present wave theory. In particular, a connection is made between homogeneous plane waves in an angular spectrum expansion of the field and the light rays belonging to a family of rays that pass through the lens. The fundamental relations assumed in Fourier optics are shown to follow from this theory when they are applied to the special case of isoplanatic optical systems with small numerical aperture. The image field of a scalar dipole formed by a diffraction-limited lens is calculated using these results.     

The educational background to the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus school of design which flourished in Germany in the 1920s is well-known for its influences both on the design of products ranging from teapots to buildings and on the development of design education throughout the world. It educational influence was felt particularly through its Basic Course in design. Many design schools still operate similar basic design courses, without understanding the educational theories and philosophies on which the original Bauhaus Course was based. This paper reviews those theories and philosophies which were prevelant in the early years of the twentieth century and which were influential in the establishment of the Bauhaus Basic Design course. It adds another dimension to the history of the Bauhaus, which is normally treated in terms of its art and design products rather than its educational process.