With this issue, AJP celebrates its first 60 years of publication and begins its second 60. Volume 1, No. 1 appeared in February, 1933, beginning with an article with an enigmatic title by Floyd K. Richtmyer [F. K. Richtmyer, "Physics is Physics," Am. J. Phys. 1 (1) 1-5 (1933)]. Richtmyer's name is known to all of us because of the annual Richtmyer Memorial lecture. He is known to many of us as the author of the text, Introduction to Modern Physics, from which we first began to learn some of the mysteries of blackbody radiation, the origins of the quantum theory, and the peculiarities of LS and jj coupling. (By the time I myself first studied from it, in 1951, it was Richtmyer and Kennard; by the time I first taught from it, in 1956, it was Richtnayer, Kennard, and Lauritsen; still later it became Richtmyer, Kennard, and Cooper.) Professor Richtmyer would perhaps be astonished and dismayed to learn that "modern" still means t>1900; perhaps before the new millennium arrives we will be sufficiently embarrassed to think up a different adjective.
We considered several ways of celebrating AJP's 60th birthday before I remembered AJP's most important function. To quote from the sentence in our Statement of Editorial Policy that best summarizes its role, AJP publishes papers that "meet the needs and intellectual interests of college and university physics teachers and students." Two years ago, we published a list of our readers' favorite papers: " Memorable papers from the American Journal of Physics, 1933-1990," 59 (3), 201-207(1991). What better way to celebrate our 60th than to remind readers of that list and bring it up to date, by listing some of the best articles from 1991 and 1992, as well as a few that for one reason or another were omitted from the earlier list?
In addition, before the new list of memorable papers, we list our "Science Citation Index Leaders," the 13 papers that -- according to the records of the Institute for Scientific Information, publisher of the Science Citation Index -- received 100 or more citations during the period 1945-1990. (2 of the 13, those by Wigner (1963) and Werthamer (1969), were included in our 1991 compilation.)
AJP turns 60 this month. I myself turned 60 less than 2 years ago. Had my parents been sufficiently prescient, they could have begun my AJP subscription as a gift on my 2nd birthday. As it is, my own series began with the issue of September, 1952, the mouth I entered graduate school. I look at my 40-year collection with affection; when this issue arrives in my mailbox, it will be the 465th in an unbroken subscription. I know full well what a special and unique place this journal occupies in the physics community; it is a rare privilege and a sobering responsibility to be its editor.
This celebratory issue of the American Journal of Physics is dedicated to Diana Haynes Romer (October 8, 1931 - February 4, 1992), for so many years a dedicated supporter of this journal and of its present editor.
Robert H. Romer, Editor
1946
R. T. Cox, "Probability, Frequency and Reasonable Expectation," 14 (1),
1-13 (1946).
1959
Rodney Loudon, "One-Dimensional Hydrogen Atom," 27 (9), 649-655 (1959).
1962
0. M. P. Bilaniuk, V. K. Deshpande, and E. C. G. Sudarshan, "'Meta'
Relativity," 30 (10), 718-723 (1962).
1963
A. P. French and Jack R. Tessman, "Displacement Currents and Magnetic
Fields," 31 (3), 201-204 (1963).
Francis W. Sears, "Faraday's Law and Ampere's Law," 31 (6),439-443
(1963).
1964
W. Martienssen and E. Spiller, "Coherence and Fluctuations in Light
Beams," 32 (12), 919-926 (1964).
1966
Mario Bunge, "Mach's Critique of Newtonian Mechanics," 34 (7),
585-596 (1966).
John G. King, "On Physics Project Laboratories," 34 (11), 1058-1062
(1966).
1967
Abraham Goldberg and Harry M. Schey, "Computer Generated Motion Pictures
of One-Dimensional Quantum-Mechanical Transmission and Reflection
Phenomena," 35 (3), 177-186 (1967).
N. Bloembergen, "The Stimulated Raman Effect," 35 (11), 989-1023 (1967).
1975
David A. Hastings, "Computational method for electrical potential and
other field problems," 43 (6), 518-524 (1975).
1978
E. U. Condon, "Tunneling -- how it all started," 46 (4),
319-323 (1978).
William H. Press, "Mathematical theory of the waterbed," 46 (10), 966-970
(1978).
Ralph Baierlein, "Teaching the approach to thermodynamic equilibrium:
Some pictures that help," 46 (10), 1042-1045 (1978).
1979
P. J. Hansen and D. R. Nicholson, "Simple soliton solutions," 47 (9),
769-771 (1979).
Beverley A. P. Taylor, "What is a solitary wave?" 47 (10), 847-850 (1979).
1980
Donald H. Kobe, "Derivation of Maxwell's equations from the gauge
invariance of classical mechanics," 48 (5), 348-353 (1980).
1982
Thomas W. Arnold and William Case, "Nonlinear effects in a simple
mechanical system," 50 (3), 220-224 (1982).
William A. Newcomb, "Trouble with the method of images," 50 (7),
601-607 (1982).
1983
R. Cohen, B. Eylon, and U. Ganiel, "Potential difference
and current in simple electric circuits: A study of students'
concepts," 51 (5), 407-412 (1983).
N. David Mermin, "Relativistic addition of velocities directly from the
constancy of the velocity of light," 51 (12), 1130-1131 (1983).
1984
Bernard F. Schuts, "Gravitational waves on the back of an envelope," 52
(5), 412-419 (1984).
N. G. van Kampen and J. J. Lodder, "Constraints," 52 (5), 419-424 (1984).
Robert W. Stanley, "Nuinerical methods in mechanics," 52 (6), 499-507 (1984).
S. Margulies, "Force on a dielectric slab inserted into a parallel-plate
capacitor," 52 (6), 515-518 (1984).
1985
Ibrahim Abou Halloun and David Hestenes, "The initial knowledge state of
college physics students," 53 (11), 1043-1055 (1985).
Ibrahim Abou Halloun and David Hestenes, "Common sense concepts about
motion," 53 (11), 1056-1065 (1985).
1986
Bernard L. Cohen, "Risk analysis of buried wastes from electricity
generation," 54 (1), 38-45 (1986).
Donald D. Clayton, "Solar structure without computers," 54 (4), 354-362
(1986).
M. A. Abramowicz and J. P. Lasota, "On traveling around without feeling
it and uncurving curves," 54 (10), 936-939 (1986).
1987
Fred M. Goldberg and Lillian C. McDermott, "An investigation of student
understanding of the real image formed by a converging lens or
concave mirror," 55 (2), 108-119 (1987).
David Hestenes, "Toward a modeling theory of physics instruction," 55
(5), 440-454 (1987).
George Greenstein, "Order-of-magnitude 'theory' of stellar structure," 55
(9), 804-8l0 (1987).
1988
Mitchell J. Feigenbaum and N. David Mermin, "E= mc2," 56 (1),
18-21 (1988).
Ranabir Dutt, Avinash Khare, and Uday P. Sukhatme, "Supersymmetry, shape
invariance, and exactly solvable potentials," 56 (2), 163-168 (1988).
1990
M. J. Ballico, M. L. Sawley, and F. Skiff, "The bipolar motor: A simple
demonstration of deterministic chaos," 58 (1), 58-61 (1990).
M. P. Silverman, "Circular birefringence of an atom in uniform rotation:
The classical perspective," 58 (4), 310-317 (1990).
Sergio De Souxa-Machado, R. W. Rollins, D. T. Jacobs, and J. L. Hartman,
"Studying chaotic systems using microcomputer simulations and
Lyapunov exponents," 58 (4), 321-329 (1990).
Frank S. Crawford, "Elementary examples of adiabatic invariance," 58 (4),
337-344 (1990).
Lillian C. McDermott, "Research and computer-bassel intruction: Opportunity
for interaction," 58 (5), 452-462 (1990).
Lillian C. McDermott, "A perspective on teacher preparation in physics and
other sciences: The need for special science courses for teachers," 58
(8), 734-742 (1990).
1991
W. M. Saslow, "How a superconductor supports a magnet, how magnetically "soft"
iron attracts a magnet, and eddy currents for the uninitiated," 59
(1), 16-25 (1991).
Ernst L. Asten, "A plea for the metric system," 59 (2), 103 (1991).
David J. Griffiths and Mark A. Heald, "Time-dependent generalizations of
the Biot-Savart and Coulomb laws," 59 (2), 111-117 (1991).
K. Yusuf Billah and Robert H. Scanlan, "Resonance, Tacoma Narrows bridge
failure, and undergraduate physics textbooks," 59 (2), 118-124 (1991).
Lillian Christie McDermott, "What we teach and what is learned-closing
the gap," 59 (4), 301-315 (1991).
Roland Gahler and Anton Zeilinger, "Wave-optical experiments with very
cold neutrons," 59 (4), 316-324 (1991).
Hans Pfister and Walter Gekelman, "Demonstration of helicity conservation
during magnetic recoanection using Christmas ribbons," 59 (6),
497-502 (1991).
Nalini Easwar and Douglas A. Maclntire, "Study of the effect of
relativistic time dilation on cosmic ray muon flux - An undergraduate
modern physics experiment," 59 (7), 589-592 (1991).
P. W. Milonni and M.-L. Shili, "Zero-point energy in early quantum theory," 59
(8), 684-698 (1991).
H. Winter and H. W. Ortjohann, "Simple demonstration of storing macroscopic
particles in a 'Paul trap'," 59 (9), 807-813 (1991).
Alan Van Heuvelen, "Learning to think like a physicist: A review of
research-based instructional strategies," 59 (10), 891-897 (1991).
Alan Van Heuvelen, "Overview, Case Study Physics," 59 (10), 898-907
(1991).
Collin L. Olson and M. G. Olsson, "Dynamical symmetry breaking and chaos in
Duffing's equation," 59 (10), 907-911 (1991).
B. Duchesne, C. W. Fischer, C. G. Gray, and K. R. Jeffrey, "Chaos in
the motion of an inverted pendulum: An undergraduate laboratory
experiment," 59 (11), 987-992 (1991).
Eugene D. Commins, "Berry's geometric phase and motional fields," 59
(12), 1077-1080 (1991).
Barry R. Holstein, "Variations on the Aharonov-Bohm effect," 59 (12),
1080-1085 (1991).
1992
Peter Heller, "Analog demonstrations of Ampere's law and magnetic
flux," 60 (1), 17-25 (1992). See also Erratum, 60 (3), 274 (1992).
Joel Gersten, Harry Soodak, and Martin S. Tiersten, "Ball moving on a
stationary or rotating horizontal surface," 60 (1), 43-47 (1992).
Richard J. Hughes, "On Feynman's proof of the Maxwell equations," 60 (4),
301-306 (1992).
Daniel E. Platt, "A modern analysis of the Sternerlach experiment," 60
(4), 306-308 (1992).
Mary B. James and David J. Griffiths, "Why the speed of light is reduced
in a transparent medium," 60 (4), 309-313 (1992).
Richard A. Muller, "Thomas precession: Where is the torque?" 60 (4),
313-317 (1992).
T. P. Hezel, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, and J. J. Leventhal, "Classical
view of the Stark effect in hydrogen atoms," 60 (4), 324-328 (1992).
T. P. Hezel, C. E. Burkhardt, M. Ciocca, L-W. He, and J. J. Leventhal,
"Classical view of the properties of Rydberg atoms: Application
of the correspondence principle," 60 (4), 329-335 (1992).
Paul Erdös, Gérard Schibler, and Roy C. Herndon, "Floating
equilibrium of symmetrical objects and the breaking of symmetry.
Part 1: Prisms," 60 (4), 335-345 (1992).
Paul Erdös, Gérard Schibler, and Roy C. Herndon, "Floating
equilibrium of symmetrical objects and the breaking of symmetry.
Part 2: The cube, the octahedron, and the tetrahedron," 60 (4), 345-356
(1992).
A. John Mallinckrodt and Harvey S. Leff, "All about work," 60 (4), 356-365 (1992).
R. S. Davis, "Using small, rare-earth magnets to study the susceptibility
of feebly magnetic metals," 60 (4), 365-370 (1992).
Troy Shinbrot, Celso Grebogi, Jack Wisdom, and James A. Yorke, "Chaos in a
double pendulum," 60 (6), 491-499 (1992).
Robert Weinstock, "Inverse-square orbits: Three little-known solutions
and a novel integration technique," 60 (7), 615-619 (1992).
W. M. Saslow, "Maxwell's theory of eddy currents in thin conducting sheets,
and applications to electromagnetic shielding and MAGLEV," 60 (8),
693-711(1992).
George B. Brown, Jr., "Guest Comment: The objectivity crisis," 60 (9) 779-781
(1992).
M. Santander, "The Chinese South-Seeking chariot: A simple mechanical device
for visualizing curvature and parallel transport," 60 (9), 782-787 (1992).
W. B. Baylis, J. Huschilt, and Jiansu Wei, "Why P," 60 (9), 788-797
(1992).
Donald G. Bruns, "A solid-state low-voltage Tesla coil demonstrator," 60
(9), 797-803 (1992).
P. A. Skordos and W. H. Zurek, "Maxwell's demon, rectifiers, and the second law:
Computer simulation of Smoluchowski's trapooor," 60 (10), 876-882
(1992).
John G. King, Philip Morrison, Phylis Morrison, and Jerome Pine, "ZAP!
Freshman electricity and magnetism using desktop experiments:
A progress report," 60 (11), 973-978 (1992).
David J. Griffiths, "Dipoles at rest," 60 (11), 979-987 (1992).
Peter Heering, "On Coulomb's inverse square law," 60 (11),
988-994(1992).
Per Kraus and David J. Griffiths, "Renormalization of a model quantum
field theory," 60 (11), 1013-1023 (1992).
Alistair Steyn-Ross and Donald G. Ivey, "'Frames of Reference' revisited,"
60 (12), 1069-1085 (1992).
Joseph Ford and Giorgio Mantica, "Does quantum mechanics obey the
correspondence principle? Is it complete?" 60 (12), 1086-1098 (1992).
K. B. MacAdam, A. Steinbech, and C. Wieman, "A narrow-band tunable diode
laser system with grating feedback, and a saturated absorption
spectrometer for Cs and Rb," 60 (12), 1098-1111 (1992).
A. E. Robson and J. D. Sethian, "Railgun recoil, Ampere tension, and the
laws of electrodynamics," 60(12), 1111-1117 (1992).