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| The Face of the Moon: Galileo to Apollo |
| Oceans, As Seen from Space |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Ancient Construction |
| Instruction Execution Cycle |
| Blueprints |
| CNN on Current NASA Missions |
| Deceptively Simple - Unsolved Problems |
| PrimeForm for Windows |
| Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins |
| Archeology, Past and Present |
| Ichnology, The Study of Plant and Animal Traces |
| A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank o' Hair |
| All About Birds |
| Mitochondria |
| Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics |
| Southern Stars Aboriginal Astronomy |
| Bell Ringing as Art and Science |
| Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
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| Netsurfer Digest |
REVIEWERS' CHOICE
Is there a Mrs. Swamp Thing?
The Face of the Moon: Galileo to Apollo
The moon has inspired speculation for millennia, but it's been the target of close scientific observation for less than 500 years. The first example of selenography - the study of the moon's features - came to us through the eyes and hands of Galileo himself. His moonscape opens an exhibit of rare books and maps from Kansas City's Linda Hall Library of science, engineering and technology. The catalogue itself is an award winner and it's the frame on which the library has tried to replicate the 1989 exhibit online. The exhibit's curator and the catalogue's author deserve their accolades. Accompanying each of the four dozen or so exhibits are two short explanations, one a chronicle of the history and people who contributed to the map and the other a commentary on the map detail itself. It's more than just a timeline of lunar mapping. It's also an unexpected history of printing technology, telescopy and, latterly, of photographic technique and telemetry. We were delighted to just kept learning one tidbit after another. It falls short on a couple or three accounts as an Internet artifact, though - for instance failing to take adequate advantage of the potential of hyperlinks. It also offers the central elements - those intriguing graphics - in only one size; many of the fragments beg for closer examination. Don't be put off by these complaints, though. This is a rich and intriguing exhibit that doesn't skimp on how much it shares with us.http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us/pubserv/hos/moon/cover.htm
EARTH SYSTEMS
No matter where you go, there you are
http://oceans.nasa.gov/
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Tornado Alley: Monster Storms of the Great PlainsCOMPUTING AND ENGINEERING
Open the pod bay doors, Hal
http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/classes/cla506.W99.mlm/construction/const_eng.html
"Here, boy! Fetch! Go get another instruction code! Now load the memory address register!" Yes, it would be a monumental task to teach a dog how to operate like a modern digital computer, and it would only be slightly easier if you had to actually teach your computer how to do that which comes naturally. For most of us, the internal operations of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) is understood about as well as polyester manufacturing or the rules to Cricket. But now, thanks to IT student Jonathan Auld, any of us can join the ranks of geekdom and start tossing around words like "accumulator," "register," and the awe-inspiring "interrupt." This page won't have you thinking in binary, but it's a good introduction to the general concepts of how the CPU does its job. "Now, boy, roll over! Set the overflow flag!"
http://www.infocom.cqu.edu.au/Units/win2000/85349/Assessment/Past_Assignments/jonatha1/
The home page of this online version of the quarterly journal of the National Building Museum takes you (after a slow load for those with bottlenecked dialups) to the current issue. It also has links to an index of all articles available online and to Blueprints 1990-94, which connects to individual issues in that time period and opens doorways into the 1981-89 time period, where only the 1989 issues are available electronically - so far), and the 1995-99 period (which actually includes the 2000 issues). Discovering this somewhat erratic navigation is just one of the benefits of a little wandering around and poking into dark corners. Some of the links are a little errant as well, adding to the adventure aspect of the exploration. For example the link to the fall 2000 issue just reenters the Museum's Web site and takes you to the main directory. Lost already, you mutter to yourself and seek out a museum guide. For the current year only one or two articles are available per issue but all previous issues (89-99) are available in their entirety. Alas there is no full-text search engine, weep, weep, but the site offers a wealth of interesting material about building and buildings in America. Browsing it is bound to turn up something that will interest you.
http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/90s/spring94/cover/cover.htm
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/space/9907/space.probe/frameset.exclude.html
MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
42
Deceptively Simple - Unsolved Problems
Frank Wikstrom, mathematician at Umeå University, presents us with some simple math problems that we couldn't possibly solve. (Intrigued, now, are you?) Never mind that they have no practical application in the physical universe, you still want to get your name in the history books, don't you? They don't sound like a big deal: Can every even integer be written as a sum of two primes? Is there an infinite number of consecutive odd primes? Can you fold a napkin in such a way that its new perimeter is larger than the original? Can you fold a napkin into one of those fancy rose shapes? Can you keep from spilling food on yourself? (Sorry, we added those last two.) Also never mind that another simple problem was recently removed from this page. It's known as Fermat's Last Theorem, and it took hundreds of years to solve, and required elements of algebraic geometry, elliptic curves, modular forms, p-adic numbers, geomancy, and a few other specialized branches of mathematics that are only fully comprehended during periods of deep sleep accompanied by intense REMs. Go head and try, just tell someone before you leave in case something bad happens.http://abel.math.umu.se/~frankw/unsolved.html Another one: Another one:
http://www.mathsoft.com/asolve/
A prime number is a number that is divisible only by itself and one. Seven is a prime number; six is not. In the days of paper and pencil math, students had to discern prime numbers by searching for factors of a number other than itself and one. Many times, this meant doing many multiplications and took a lot of time. The hand-held calculator made this process faster, but still cumbersome. With the advent of the computer, programs could be written that would identify prime numbers. Our reviewer wrote such a program in GWBASIC. However, larger numbers still took a lot of CPU cycles to determine if they were prime. Enter the Fermat little theorem. PrimeForm, a Windows 32-bit program that can be downloaded from this site, uses the Fermat little theorem to determine the probability of a given number being prime. This does not prove that the number is prime, but identifies numbers that merit further testing. If you love math, no explanation of why you would want to do this is necessary. If you don't, no explanation would suffice.
PrimeForm: http://pages.prodigy.net/chris_nash/primeform.html
Download: http://pages.prodigy.net/chris_nash/pform.zip
ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY
What is past is prologue
Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins
Brush up on your Latin while checking out some old coins - really old coins - in this online catalog of Roman coins. Robert W. Cape operates the catalog from Austin College and has assembled some sharply detailed pictures of the coins along with reviews of their conditions. Information includes the issuer, a description of the obverse (front) and reverse sides, references, grades, and comments. A search engine even helps you find coins in which you have a particular interest. If you are a numismatist (coin collector) or just have a casual interest in old coins, you will be delighted with the pictures and information about these artifacts.http://artemis.austinc.edu/acad/cml/rcape/vcrc/
The University of Chicago's Oriental Institute has excavated, mapped, studied and published extensively on some of the most significant archaeological sites in the Near and Middle East. Now the fruits of decades of scholarship can be plucked from the newly opened online archives. Further, reports from the Institute's 23 active sites are periodically posted, as are scholarly papers pertaining to controversies in archeology. A rip-snorting example of one such controversy involves the current Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum. Professor Norman Golb presents a litany of challenges to the text presented in the Field's exhibit, which he claims misleads the public by leaving out a great deal of scholarly evidence and theory about the scrolls.
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/OI_Archaeology.html
Ichnology, The Study of Plant and Animal Traces
You'd say "ich", too, if it were your job to classify animal poop. Actually, poop is just one of the things left behind by organisms that an ichnologist studies. Whether its tracks, burrows, mineral structures, or remains of the creature itself, and whether they're fossilized (called coprolite) or still warm, it's his (or her) job to figure out what it was and the kind of environment in which its maker lived. A reasonable picture database helps those undertaking an ichy search, supported by current news in the field and a handy pronunciation guide for all those Latin-derived terms. Watch your step, though; part of the site is still under construction.http://www.emory.edu/COLLEGE/ENVS/research/ichnology/
MEDICINE, BIOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY
It's alive! It's alive!
A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank o' Hair
Stripped of soft tissue like muscle, sinew, and tendons, what holds our bones together? You have two choices: (1) Nothing or (2) Hot glue and a few discreet pins. Fossils don't come from the ground fully formed and that can be a problem. Science exhibits equal parts chagrin and exultation every time it's revealed that some poor Apatosaurus sported a Camarasaurus skull for a few years before someone thoughtfully reunited him with his own head. The Biology Department at Portland State University might not help you sort out those thorny matters of extinct species identification, but it will help you understand the mechanics of the skeletons of more common latter-day beasties. In its Articulation Pages, you'll learn the value of bugs and ammonia for cleaning bones, the role of varathane in preserving them, and the merits of a mini-clothesline in assembling them into some semblance of the creature they once supported. The pages certainly aren't flashy, but when you're up to your elbows in hot glue and tibia, you'll appreciate the authors' lean approach.http://www-adm.pdx.edu/user/bio/articula/
Since bird species outnumber mammal species by more than twice as many, it makes sense that American Homo sapiens have made bird watching their second-most popular outdoor hobby (second to gardening.) From the tiny bee hummingbird, which weighs only 0.05 oz to the huge ostrich, which can weigh over 300 lbs., the Kaytee Discovery Zone site gives a sweeping look at the world's 85,000 bird species. Kaytee Products is a 133-year-old bird feed manufacturing company, but the site is much more than a commercial for sunflower seeds. It's an educational outreach arm of its nonprofit foundation, which recently opened the Avian Education Center in Chilton, Wisconsin. The site gives good scientific information about anatomy and classifications of birds, as well as great practical advice for creating your own backyard bird sanctuary.
http://www.kaytee.com/discovery/
Mitochondria are fascinating for any number of reasons including their use in unraveling human evolutionary history, in figuring out the human family tree, and of course for their role in disease. The Mitochondria Interest Group (MIG) site isn't really intended for amateur enthusiasts, however, but for those who already know their way around the mitochondrion or who have a professional background in one of the disciplines that intersects with the subject. MIG is a way of keeping abreast of what's going on in this active, interdisciplinary field. You can watch MIG meetings via RealVideo, both new and archived ones, check out the meeting schedule, and link to Mitodat, the mitochondrion protein database, as well as to other sites of interest to mitochondrialists. There's also a database of MIG members where you can look up the names, affiliations, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of any of the members. And to find out who is working in a particular field, check out the subject search for the membership.
MIG: http://tango01.cit.nih.gov/sig/home.taf?_function=main&SIGInfo_SIGID=60
Subject search: http://www-lecb.ncifcrf.gov/~zullo/migDB/
Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics
The title says it all; this site offers a textbook of orthopedics aimed at physicians, derived from many sources, including journal articles, meeting reports, lectures, and textbooks. It covers all the topics in orthopedics, integrating text with images (the site map is a skeleton), and offering many extras, such as links to other medical sites, news, and journals. A highly specialized site aimed at professionals, but valuable also for informed laypeople.http://www.medmedia.com/Welcome.html
ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND GEOGRAPHY
All that we see or seem
Southern Stars Aboriginal Astronomy
A cross between the anthropology of Australian Aboriginal culture and a beginner's guide to the southern sky, Southern Stars Aboriginal Astronomy details the all-encompassing mythology that tied the heavens to the earth. Australia's first people saw many of the same constellations that the Greeks and Romans knew. Some of the entities they saw in the night sky were surprisingly similar; the Pleiades appeared as seven sisters in Australia, too. The Aboriginal people were so closely bound to the sky that they had identified characteristics of the stars and planets that weren't detailed until much later by western observers. There's a subtlety to the sensibilities that generated and sprang from these stories that unquestionably loses something in the translation, but this site at least alerts us to the scope of the Aboriginal belief system.http://library.thinkquest.org/C005462/index2.html
SCIENCE AND ART
Puttin' on the Ritz
Bell Ringing as Art and Science
We recently happened by accident on a site about the art of change bell ringing, something we'd never heard of before. There was just enough information at the site to pique, but not sate, our interest. Change ringing is not the chorale music with which we might be more familiar. The bells that we know may be part of a carillon, perhaps controlled by computers, most often played from a keyboard, usually in recognizable tunes. Bells played in this style are generally stationary, and only the clapper moves to produce the tone. In change ringing, the bells, each requiring a dedicated player, swing so freely that they arc a full 360º. The compositions are more tonal than melodic, and follow patterns that rely in good measure on mathematical intricacies. We couldn't find a single site that entirely answered our curiosity once it was raised, but this esoteric activity has inspired a surprising number of sites that address one aspect or another of change bell ringing. We're directing you to one site, belonging to the North American Guild of Change Ringers. It's informative in and of itself, but it also offers a set of links that open on to dozens of other sites that speak to the art, physics, and mathematics of change ringing.http://www.nagcr.org/index.html#mainindex#mainindex
SCIENCE LITE
Where are you, Mulder?
Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names
This is sort of like having Robin Williams as your chemistry instructor. While chemists aren't generally known for their sense of humor, one could be convinced otherwise at this site that showcases molecules with funny names. Accompanied by crystal structure diagrams, silly illustrations, and explanations on how these chemicals got their monikers, one can find out about commic acid, uranate, and the ever-popular megaphone. The first one's the best, though. NETSURFER SCIENCE NEEDS A WRITER Oops! We did it again. You know that old saw about the monkey typing randomly since the dawn of time? It will eventually turn out an issue of Netsurfer? Well, one of Netsurfer's writers has slipped the chains binding her to her keyboard, and we're on the prowl for a replacement reviewer. This time, we're especially looking for a writer who's comfortable with the hard sciences like astrosciences, mathematics, or home brewing. No, you needn't be an MIT doctoral candidate or a professional writer - but we'd appreciate it if you don't think that string theory is an explication of Clapton's blues influences. You'll need to have the time and will to review and comment on about a dozen sites each month. For your pains, you'll receive enough change to more or less keep your ISP happy each month. (Note from Arthur: In point of fact, unless Judi has instituted some administrative changes of which I'm unaware, we think it's barbaric to chain Netsurfer writers to their keyboards; the employee maual specifies duct tape.). If you think you'd like to join Netsurfer's corps of random typists, we'd like to hear from you at writers@netsurf.com. Tell us a bit about yourself and maybe include a sample of your writing. We'll be in touch.http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/MOTM/silly/sillymols.htm