Yoshikatsu Sugiura's Contribution to the Development of Quantum Physics in Japan

Previous research in the history of physics has led us to believe that Yoshio Nishina (1890–1951) virtually single‐handedly imported quantum physics into Japan. However, there are first‐hand accounts that Yoshikatsu Sugiura (1895–1960) also played an important role. Sugiura made his name in quantum chemistry with his contribution to the Heitler‐London theory of the chemical bond. Yet, historians of physics have paid scant attention to him. This paper brings forward information on Sugiura from his letters, his scientific papers, and his own recollections until ca. 1930. By examining this material, the present paper studies Sugiura's accomplishments in Europe and his contributions to the development of quantum physics in Japan. We conclude that Sugiura was one of the most important physicists when it comes to the arrival of quantum physics in Japan. In addition, we assess why he has been under‐appreciated in the history of physics in Japan. Our historical study on Sugiura suggests that, in addition to the position Nishina and his students rightfully occupy, there still are important unexplored aspects in the history of Japanese quantum physics.     

Tom Stoppard’s Big Picture: The Chaos that is Our World

Abstract

Issues arising from discussions regarding the ‘two cultures’ of science and art are many and varied. Tom Stoppard’s very active utilization of science in many of his plays has resulted in his work — especially the quantum mechanics-informed Hapgood and the chaotics-informed Arcadia — being held up as paradigmatic of one science/art position or another. Often, critical approaches to these plays involve a checklist of scientific facts, implying that the goal of such art is to serve as a delivery device for scientific breakthroughs. While plays, novels, and movies of various sorts may have such goals in mind, Stoppard’s plays do not comfortably fill that agenda, critical arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. Neither do Stoppard’s plays show particular interest in engaging any debate about the superiority of one ‘culture’ over the other. In his two ‘science plays’ in particular, what Stoppard offers is an enrichment of both science and art through metaphorical intertwinings that suggest experience is best served when both camps collaborate. The bigger picture that results argues an overlap in epistemology, namely revealing the uncanny similarity in which artist and scientist approach the material that is our universe.     

How flakes shatter: a critical evaluation of quartz fracture analysis

Despite its worldwide use as a stone tool raw material, quartz is known to be a difficult material for archaeologists. The main reason for this is the tendency of quartz flakes to fragment during detachment, which complicates the use of traditional lithic analyses. In this article we present an experimental study of quartz flake fragmentation. We evaluate the method called fracture analysis that has been developed and used explicitly for the study of quartz assemblages. The method assumes high predictability of quartz flake fragmentation, but our experiments show that there is significant variation in fragmentation that fracture analysis does not take into account. Our results indicate that this variation is partly explained by indenter hardness, the relative thickness of the detached flake, as well as individual knapper-related factors. These results undermine the applicability of quartz fracture analysis in its current form. In addition, we discuss the effects of flake fragmentation on the technological organisation of prehistoric quartz users and suggest that it has affected reduction strategies as well as blank and tool dimensions. We also suggest that there should be mobility-related differences in archaeological assemblages in terms of the quality of the quartz raw material and that the curation of quartz should be low in relation to better quality raw materials used parallel with it.     

Measuring use-related fracture velocity in lithic armatures to identify spears,javelins, darts,and arrows

This study employs a brittle fracture-mechanics-based approach to explore the relationship between lithic fracture velocity and precursory loading rate in fine-grained lithic armatures. The data demonstrate that only high-speed dart and arrow armatures are subject to dynamic loading events, whereas spear and javelin armatures are limited to rapid (and quasi-static) loading. The data presented were derived from controlled experiments employing spears, javelins, spearthrower darts, and arrows. Armatures associated with both bow and spearthrower technologies are reliably identified and distinguished from those of low-speed technologies such as spears and javelins. Javelin armatures may also sustain higher velocity fractures than spear armatures, thus permitting the further differentiation of these technologies. The methodology offers a quantitative, non-subjective means to identify the delivery technology associated with a lithic armature.     

Estimating original flake mass from 3D scans of platform area

This study confirms the increased capacity to predict flake mass that arises from more accurately measuring surface area in three dimensions using a digital scanner. We also reveal the existence of significantly different relationships between platform area and flake mass for flakes with different platform types and ventral and dorsal morphologies. These different relationships between platform surface area and mass have not been previously identified, and reveal the complexity of platform/mass relationships. Using multivariate regression of 3D platform surface area and external platform angle we improve the accuracy of predictions of original flake mass. We propose a method for studying reduction intensity on retouched flakes, based on comparing predictions of the initial mass of the flake with measurements of the mass following retouching to estimate the amount of mass removed through retouching. We name this approach the Initial-/Terminal-Mass Comparison, or ITMC. Our experiments demonstrate that the capacity of the 3D platform scans to predict flake mass, and by implication the capacity of the ITMC to estimate mass loss, rivals or exceeds the capacity demonstrated for existing reduction measures.     

Hits and misses when throwing stones at mass analysis

Mass Analysis (MA), a well-recognized method of flake debris analysis, has generated significant interest in size-grade variables for investigating prehistoric lithic technologies, criticism of such usage, and combination methods developed to address some of those criticisms. A recent critique concluded that there are significant sources of error that preclude the use of MA for investigating prehistoric assemblages. We disagree with this generalization, but recognize that uncritical application of MA by non-lithic specialists is unlikely to yield useful results. Confusion as to what constitutes MA versus other size-grade approaches is a significant consideration. We address these issues as well as replicator variability, raw material, debitage mixing, diagnostic signatures, and the necessity of multivariate analysis in demonstrating that in many cases the attacks on MA are based on faulty evidence or are misguided. We advocate the use of a multiple lines of evidence approach that incorporates aspects of MA. Continued experimentation and application to particular archaeological assemblages in a cyclical fashion is necessary to explore more fully the utility of MA.     

On the flow characteristics of the conical Minoan pipes used in water supply systems,via computational fluid dynamics simulations

The Minoan Terracotta pipes with their conical shape were widely used in the water distribution system in the ancient Minoan civilization. They remain one of the brightest achievements of the Minoan tribe in water supply technology and raise admiration as well as many questions about the technological advancements of antiquity, that are yet to be understood. The present work aims at answering the following questions: a) what inspired the Minoans to manufacture pipes with such a peculiar shape, that differs greatly not only from later pipe designs of antiquity, but also from contemporary cylindrical pipes and b) why was the design of those pipes abandoned after the fall of the Minoan civilization? It tries to address these questions by investigating the flow physics and dynamics that take place in such pipes, adopting advanced numerical and computational methods. The time-averaged Navier–Stokes equations along with the k − ? turbulence model are solved for a variety of geometrical parameters, pipe orientations and flow rates, in order to produce a comparative picture of the hydraulic efficiency of the conical Minoan pipes. The flow field is visualized and critical flow parameters, such as the head loss, the velocity magnitude and turbulence intensity, are calculated. These calculations show clearly that the conical Minoan pipes exhibit significantly higher pressure drops along their length compared to an equivalent straight pipe. In their widest part an extended recirculation appears, which could wash out impurities that may be present in the water, which at the same time cannot be deposited on the pipe wall. This evidence proves that the Minoan pipes are energetically expensive to operate and consequently their replacing by cylindrical pipes was inevitable. Therefore, it seems that the main advantage and purpose of the particular geometry was that they could be easily connected on site, forming long straight or slowly bending lines without having to add straight or many different fittings in between.     

Physik und Politik in der frühen Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Max Born,Werner Heisenberg und Pascual Jordan als politische Grenzgänger

Physics and Politics in the Early Federal Republic of Germany. Max Born, Werner Heisenberg and Pascual Jordan between Scientific and Political Discourse. – Contrasting the historiography of two major developments in 20th century German history, the creation of quantum mechanics in 1925 and the dispute on the nuclear armament of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, the question is raised to which extent the scientific culture was able to bridge political disagreement within the German physicists' community. A twofold story of the private and public exchange between Max Born, Werner Heisenberg and Pascual Jordan among others on the scientists' position to nuclear armament on the one hand and the writing of the history of quantum mechanics on the other hand displays different types of relating scientific work and moral responsibility. Neither politics nor science went on unaltered after the disputes between physics and politics in the early Federal Republic of Germany.