APS News

November 2006 (Volume 15, Number 10)

Zero-Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science

And the winner is... Announcing the lucky winner of the physics crossword contest

Last March APS News announced a contest for the best physics crossword puzzle. Our panel of experts took into account both the intrinsic merit of the puzzle and the amount of physics content, and has come up with three prize-winning puzzles. Top prize goes to Gary Hodes of the Weizmann Institute in Israel, whose puzzle is reproduced on this page. The other prize-winning puzzles were submitted by Michael A. Pelizzari and Stephen Irons. All three will receive a copy of the book “Physics in the Twentieth Century.” Readers are cautioned that (a) Hodes's puzzle is very hard (it is in the style of a “cryptic crossword”); and (b) the numbering system is unconventional, since in many places numbers are repeated, once for across and once for down. Answers to the puzzle appear with the online version of this issue.

Readers are cautioned that (a) Hodes's puzzle is very hard (it is in the style of a “cryptic crossword”); and (b) the numbering system is unconventional, since in many places numbers are repeated, once for across and once for down
Readers are cautioned that (a) Hodes's puzzle is very hard (it is in the style of a “cryptic crossword”); and (b) the numbering system is unconventional, since in many places numbers are repeated, once for across and once for down

CLUES

Across

Down

2 This is an actual difference 1 A curious element
3 A useful place to send papers 2 A very short length of wood
4 Unidirectional flow 3 Distance
5 Reversed voltage drop 4 45 down of 45 across
6 What you need for this puzzle 5 Below this value, things really move
7 Straight from the wall 6 Male cats are made of these
14 Charges sometimes do this 7 Can be noisy
15 He’s on the level 8 Occurs in physics but not in commerce
16 This has one in the form of a band 9 Not quite microwaves
18 A striptease at the atomic level 10 Energy of an electron gas
19 Low temperature resistance unit? 11 Not positive about this abbreviation
20 An increasingly common referee comment 12 Complement of red
21 French Canadian research council 13 Think sharply
22 This word is in the correct position 14 A positive outcome of a crusade
23 This term becomes less common because of email 15 A heavy leader
24 Flows - at the moment 16 Go to great lengths to amass some time
25 Type of number 17 2 by 24 across
26 Rotates 18 A lamp inherited from ones central American forefathers
27 Opposite of 23 down 19 Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
28 Scatter-brained scientist 20 This technique resonates with many users
29 Basic electrical properties 21 A stupid mixup over a molten element
30 Transpond NSF 22 Unit of energy
31 One of the most important components of a Gordon conference 23 An archaic form of 20 across
32 Force 25 High level proceedings
33 A chemist’s answer for a biological mishap to physicists 26 Energy – even for laymen
34 Will force you to eat 27 Environmentally friendly way of getting down to detail
35 Elves might use this technique 28 Some physicists prefer to work on this
36 It’s both a solid and a gas. 29 Grind
37 A weighty term 30 A law to boast about
38 You’ll find a horse here in equilibrium 31 Transports by four wheels, not two
39 A Roman lab coat? 32 Not heavy but intermittent
40 Only one electron at a time 39 Directional
41 These are positively left behind 40 This club is for some physicists
45 Philanthropic species 41 16 across has one of these
46 A Gaussian system of units for slow people 42 An Oxford university address
47 A more international system 43 Like 20 down
48 Has a well-defined internal crystal structure 44 Having eyes that are charged
49 Narrowly fluoresces 45 A lot of people live there
50 A particular family 46 A current limiter
51 A very small unknown object 47 Spread by an urge to dive
52 Popular length units 48 Most got their first physics lessons here
53 Eyes see backwards 49 Not the most interesting of scientists
54 A certain type of pot does this 50 For a particle, this could be either a little or a lot of energy
55 Violet 51 A unit of time
56 A unit of 24 across 52 Logic circuit
57 Captain’s ruling springs to mind 53 Another version of 51 down
58 This will mess things up 54 Increasing potential energy
59 A unit you can't resist 55 Not as far as 9 down
60 This outshines 15 down 56 A few cases of this published in reputable journals
61 This guy is still on the up – for the moment    
62 Sticky particles    
63 392 Hz or some multiple    
64 Letters useful also for public relations    
65 A junction    
66 Spin fast to get away from the smell    

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APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.

Editor: Alan Chodos
Contributing Editor: Jennifer Ouellette
Staff Writer: Ernie Tretkoff

November 2006 (Volume 15, Number 10)

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Articles in this Issue
APS Task Force Recommends Ways to Better Serve Industrial Members
New Website Targets a Broader Audience
Fellowship Nominations Go Electronic
April Plenary Speakers Set
APS Interviews Apker Finalists
Mather, Smoot Share 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics
NRC Releases AMO Physics Report
Mass Media Fellows Reflect on Summer Science Writing Experience
NAS Study Finds Barriers Remain for Women Physicists
AIP Survey Finds Increase in Physics Degrees
Ninety Years of Optics Innovation Highlight 2006 Laser Science Meeting
ETS Announces Newly Revised GRE Test
Nine Physicists Honored at November Division Meetings
Letters
Viewpoint: Back to School
Inside the Beltway: Innovation and competitiveness is the people’s business.
The Back Page
Members in the Media
This Month in Physics History
Zero-Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
Zero Gravity: Puzzle Answers