1 Introductory Remarks
Prof. Jocelyn Monroe, Assistant Professor of Physics, MIT;
2006-2009 Pappalardo Fellow
2 The Hunt for Dark Matter
Dr. James Battat,
2008–2011 Pappalardo Fellow (Dark Matter & Neutrino Physics)
The Standard Model of particle physics cannot account for 80% of the matter in the Universe. This mystery looms large over physics, and has stimulated an international program to identify dark matter. In traditional direct detection experiments, the putative signatures of the interaction of dark matter with a target nucleus are difficult to measure, and are easily mimicked by the vastly more abundant background e
3 Oxide interface: a Chance for New Electronics
Dr. Lu Li,
2008–2011 Pappalardo Fellow (Condensed Matter Experiment)
Like silicon in computer chips, interfaces between complex oxides are potential candidates for new functional electronics. Some interfaces between insulating oxides are conductive, and even superconducting. Transistors based on these interfaces demonstrate that electrons can be more effectively controlled with applied voltages, which provides a new way to make low-dissipation electronics. Moreover, magnetic moments of elec
5 Iron-based High Tc Superconductors: How Electrons Pair by Repulsion
Dr. Fa Wang,
2009–2012 Pappalardo Fellow (Hard Condensed Matter Theory)
In superconductors, electrons form pairs that can transport electricity without dissipation. This pairing requires attraction between electrons while the fundamental interaction between them is Coulomb repulsion. In conventional superconductors, the attraction is provided by the vibration of ions. But this is likely not the case in many unconventional superconductors, including the copper-based and the newly discovered
6 The End of Inflation
Dr. Mustafa Amin,
2008–2011 Pappalardo Fellow (Theoretical Astrophysics)
Inflation, a period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe, provides an elegant explanation for the observed spatial flatness of our universe. It also provides a robust mechanismfor generating the observed initial conditions for the formation of large-scale structure. However, inflation must end, giving rise to a hot, thermal Universe by the time light elements get synthesized. How did inflation end? Ca
4 Genetic Demixing in Bacterial Colonies
Dr. Kirill Korolev,
2010–2013 Pappalardo Fellow (Soft Condensed Matter Theory & Biophysics)
The evolution of natural populations involves more than mutations followed by natural selection—the reshuffling of genes during genetic recombination, stochasticity, and spatial migrations are also important. The effects of fluctuations and spatial structure become especially pronounced when organisms spread to new territories because the number of organisms at the front of the expansion is typica
Crowd Computing and Human Computation Algorithms
Rob Miller, User Interface Design Group, MIT CSAIL
A Conversation with Nancy Hopkins
Nancy Hopkins, Amgen, Inc. Professor of Biology, talks about her life in biology, in a talk called "48 Years of Molecular Biology: 1963-2011." Part of the Conversations with Scientists series sponsored by the MIT Department of Biology and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Power Cloths of the Commonwealth
RMIT Gallery's successful exhibition Power Cloths of the Commonwealth, was Australia's only cultural representation at the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Held from 25 September to 20 October 2010, the successful exhibition showcased key historical and contemporary works from around the Commonwealth, many of which have not been previously on public display.
Power Cloths of the Commonwealth was opened by the Hon. Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Parliament) Shrimati Meira Kumar on 26 September 2010 at
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2.2 The purpose of this activity For these short video extracts we have chosen to focus on two main viewpoints. Try not to look beyond the outline of the debate, for we are not expecting you to come to a conclusion about who is right and who is wrong – the issues are far too intricate for that. All you need to do is to recognise what the issues are and to be able to identify what arguments each side puts forward in support of its case. The key skill being developed is identifying the arguments used by various individ
2.1.2 Note taking The first important point to make is that note taking is more than a process of summarising everything that you see; it must be an active process of engaging with the material and thinking it through for yourself. In the video, the multidimensional nature of the visual images and the stories they convey means that you will not be able to take in everything on first viewing. The reason we chose to present the material on video was, in order for you to revisit the material and think about it in
2.1.1 Preparation
Prepare to watch the video in just the same way as you would prepare to study written material. You will need to have a suitable environment in which you should be relatively undisturbed and able to concentrate for the full length of each video extract. You will need to be able to take some notes as you watch – it is easy to forget the key points if you leave note taking until the video is finished, and it will be important to record your immediate reactions to some of the images.
I
2.1 Learning from video footage You might think that learning from audio-visual sources is very different from learning from written sources yet, somewhat surprisingly, it is much the same. This section of the unit will help you to think about how you can turn the very familiar, but usually passive, process of watching a video into the active process of learning. Watching the video will involve the skills of engaging with the material and making sense of it for yourself, just as if it were written materials. The advantage o
1.6 Defining global markets Global markets for manufactured goods, as opposed to, say, primary commodities such as oil and timber, arose largely in the second half of the twentieth century as trade between countries intensified. The lowering of transport costs and the relative fall in trade barriers enabled firms in one country to com 1.5 Offshore fragments of industry: a pro-market standpoint From a pro-market standpoint, global market forces and the competitive pressures that they generate leave businesses with no choice but to take advantage of lower labour costs elsewhere. In the textile business or the toy business, lower wage costs are the key to profitability; if your competitors find a cheaper labour source, you either follow their example or go out of business. It is not, so the argument runs, because managers lack integrity or compassion that there are now more manufactur 1.4 Offshore fragments of industry: the negative standpoint Nike Inc., the US sportswear firm, did in fact take the lead in organising its overseas manufacturing business on a subcontracting basis (Donaghu and Barff, 1990). Early on in the 1970s, it established a web of contractual relationships (or partnerships, as it preferred to call them), with factories in Taiwan and South Korea, to produce its branded footwear. Of these factories, the big-volume producers among them were also contracted to other Western firms to produce a range of footwear. Nike 1.3 Activity 1 Before you read on, I would like you to dwell for just a moment on the significance of this shift from direct investment by Western firms to the establishment of subcontracting ties with overseas partners. Aside from 1.2 Offshore fragments of industry The rise of global factories in the 1970s owed much to the rapid improvement in transport and communications technologies which took place at that time and which made it possible to keep in touch with, and control, production processes in different parts of the world. Just as significant was the fragmentation of industrial production whereby parts of the manufacturing process could be relocated over vast distances. Sewing in garment and footwear production, for instance, was among the 1.1 Introduction Looking back over the 1970s, it is perhaps hard now to appreciate just how dramatic were the changes to the global map of industry taking place at that time. As more and more of the world's industry shifted from the affluent nations to the poorer, less developed countries in search of a cheaper labour force, the global economic map had to be redrawn to take account of the borders crossed and the distances traversed by firms from wealthier countries seeking to generate higher profits by reloca
Activity 1
