Vol 24 No 4

Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 493-500

Female physicists who shaped the atomic age history

Ekaterina I Michonova

Erskine College

2, Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639-0338, USA

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The present work is focused on the women physicists, who contributed to the early discoveries in nuclear physics until 1945. Among the many talented women scientists who contributed to different stages of the scientific discoveries, there were not only physicists, but also chemists, biologists, mathematicians, and technicians yet they were not given proper credit for their contributions in most of the publications on the topic. This work is an attempt to do that. Among the familiar names such as those of Marie Curie, Iren Curie, and Lise Meitner, the reader will learn about some less well known female physicists, including Harriet Brooks, the first Ph.D. student of Boltzmann, Ida Noddack, who made the first statement of fission, and Leona Woods, the only woman who worked in the group of Fermi. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

Total Refs: 23

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Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 501-509

Sophie Germain and her uncertainties in elasticity theory

Ennio Badolati and Sandra Ciccone

Università del Molise, Via de Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy

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In this paper we examine Sophie Germain’s work involving elasticity theory. After a biographical sketch, we discuss the errors within Sophie Germain’s partial differential equation. Lastly, we consider some comments made by other scholars about Sophie Germain and her work. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

Total Refs: 32

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Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 513-519

Chien-Shiung Wu and her support for women physicists

Ruth H Howes

Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Emerita, Ball State University

714 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA

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There have been many excellent articles about the great Chinese experimental physicist Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, so details of her family, career and education are well-documented. In addition, she and others have described her experiments which were critical to the development of our understanding of the nucleus. This paper covers her life and work briefly and focuses on a less documented aspect of Professor Wu’s career, her tireless support for women who were working in physics. While she never tolerated laziness or carelessness in any physicist, male or female, she enabled her women students to maintain their work in physics without denying their role as women and taught them to compete successfully in the fast and furious world of experimental physics. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

Total Refs: 19

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Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 521-527

Virginia Trimble: a life in and out of astrophysics

Ennio Badolati and Sandra Ciccone

Università del Molise, Via de Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy

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This paper provides a profile and examines the contribution of Virginia Trimble to astrophysics and her role in research the 20th and 21st centuries. A survey of her papers follows the references. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

Total Refs: 8

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Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 543-546

Expanding girls’ horizons in physics and other sciences: A successful strategy since 1976

Cherrill M Spencer

Retired from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

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Girls must take appropriate prerequisite-to-college mathematics and science courses when they are 15 to 18 years old in order to start on the path to a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM). Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) in Science, Engineering and Mathematics conferences are one-day conferences for girls age 12 to 18, designed to encourage girls towards a STEM career. EYH conferences engage school girls in enjoyable hands-on STEM activities, created and led by women STEM professionals. This paper describes the history of EYH conferences, what happens at an EYH conference, EYH’s impact on the girls, and how to start an EYH conference. Although the EYH conferences were started in the USA, they have been successfully held all over the world, including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

Total Refs : 6

Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 00-00

The Collaboration of Mileva Marićand Albert Einstein

Estelle Asmodelle
University of Central Lancashire
School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences,

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This is a contemporary review of the involvement of Mileva Marić, Albert Einstein’s first wife, in his theoretical work between the period of 1900 to 1905. Separate biographies are outlined for both Mileva and Albert, prior to their attendanceat Zürich Polytechnic in 1896. Then a combined journal is described, detailing significant events. In addition to a biographical sketch, comments by various authors are compared and contrasted concerning two narratives. Firstly, the sequence of events that happened and the couple’s relationship at particular times. Secondly, the contents of letters from both Albert and Mileva. Some interpretations of the usage of pronouns in those letters during 1899 and 1905 are re-examined, and a different hypothesis regarding the usage of those pronouns is introduced. We examine various papers and compare the content of each subsequent paper to the work that Mileva was performing. With a different take, this treatment further suggests that the couple continued to work together much longer than other authors have indicated. We also evaluate critics and supporters of the hypothesis that Mileva was involved in Einstein’s work, and refocus this within a historical context, in terms of women in science in the late 19thcentury. Lastly, the definition of, collaboration and co-authorship specifically, is outlined. As a result, recommendations are stated. The first of which is Mileva should be seriously considered as an honorary co-author of one, possibly two, papers. Secondly, it is recommended that a serious inquiry should be made, concerning the extent of Mileva Marić’s involvement in Albert Einstein’s published works between 1902 and 1905. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.

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Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 24, No 4 (2015) 00-00

Optical biosensors exploiting the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance

M A Baqir, Masih Ghasemi and P K Choudhury
Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
UKM Bangi, 43600 Selangor, Malaysia

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A prism-coupled waveguide biosensor is theoretically designed to determine the concentrations of the aqueous solutions of sugar, glycerol and potassium iodide. For this purpose, the principle of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) through the use of Turbadar-Kretschmann-Raether (TKR) configuration is exploited. The dips in reflection spectra, as generated due to the phenomenon of SPR, determine the levels of concentration of the measurands used. Moreover, the sensitivity of sensor system is analyzed corresponding to two different wavelengths, by taking into account water as the reference medium. The results essentially determine the efficacy of the TKR-based system in health diagnostics. © Anita publications. All rights reserved.
Keywords: SPR; prism-coupled optical sensor; optical biosensor

Total Refs : 34

ASIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS