Category Archives: Astrophysics

Feynman Lectures on Physics — complete & free online

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The Feynman Lectures on Physics are now available in their entirety online and for free. “First presented in the early 1960s at Caltech by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, the lectures were eventually turned into a book by Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, and Matthew Sands. The text went on to become arguably the most popular physics book ever written, selling more than 1.5 million copies in English, and getting translated into a dozen languages.”

Source:  ResearchBuzz, Tara Calishain, Sept. 2, 2014

DataCite & Data Citation Index (Thomson Reuters)

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“ Thomson Reuters and DataCite collaborate to expand discovery of research data –29 Aug 2014

The Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters has announced a collaboration with DataCite, a global non-profit organization dedicated to enabling people to find, share, use, and cite data. The collaboration will promote the discovery of research data sets through the Data Citation Index, a single-point solution providing access to quality research data sets from multi-disciplinary repositories around the world.

This collaboration will connect the Data Citation Index to high quality research data from repositories worldwide that work with DataCite. This will ensure that the valuable content that has been made citable by DataCite is globally discoverable, properly attributed and reusable by other researchers. As part of the Web of Science – the premier scientific search and discovery platform and industry authority in science, social science, and arts & humanities citation indexes – inclusion within the Data Citation Index will also further DataCite’s mission of increasing acceptance of research data as citable contributions to the scholarly record.

Since creating the Data Citation Index, Thomson Reuters has worked closely with global industry leaders to expand the breadth of research discovery by capturing bibliographic records and cited references for digital research, as well as literature describing research which cites or uses the data, stewarding the accurate identification, attribution and measurement of this growing body of scholarship. The Data Citation Index allows users to gain a comprehensive view of the genesis of research projects and influence the future paths they may take, while minimizing the duplication of work and speeding the scientific research process to keep pace with the changing global research landscape. Through linked content and summary information, this data is displayed within the broader context of the scholarly research ecosystem, enabling users to gain perspective that otherwise would be lost if viewed in isolation.”

Source:  Knowledgespeak Newsletter

AAS Journals published with IOP, online only as of 2015

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“As the Library Liaison for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), I attended their board meeting last week.

The AAS and IOP Publishing (IOP) have asked though that I announce immediately that all AAS research journals published with IOP will become electronic only and will no longer print paper editions. This transition will take effect with the 2015 subscription year and affects the Astronomical Journal (AJ) and the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL), and Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (ApJS).

Electronic-only publication will allow for further development of the AAS journals, outside of the constraints of print providing even better service to subscribers, authors and readers.

Full details can be found in this press release.”

http://ioppublishing.org/newsDetails/american-astronomical-society-journals-going-electronic-only

Barbara Kern,  Chair, PAM/SLA

Finding NCDC Climate Data and Resources

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NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration presented an online webinar on Feb. 26, 2014.  From their description:

  • Duration: 40 minutes
  • Speakers:
    • Greg Hammer , Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Scott Stephens, Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Stuart Hinson, Meteorologist, NCDC
    • Mara Sprain, MALS Librarian, NCDC
    • Susan Osborne, Technical Writer and Communications Specialist, NCDC

“Summary: NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) maintains the world’s largest climate data archive and provides climatological services and data to every sector of the United States economy and to users worldwide. Records in the archive range from paleoclimatic data, to centuries-old journals, to data less than an hour old. The Center’s mission is to preserve these data and make them available to the public, business, industry, government, and researchers.

Data come to NCDC from not only land-based stations but also from ships, buoys, weather balloons, radars, satellites, and even sophisticated weather and climate models. With these data, NCDC develops national and global datasets. The datasets are used to maximize the use of our climatic and natural resources while also minimizing the risks caused by climate variability and weather extremes. NCDC has a statutory mission to describe the climate of the United States, and it acts as the “Nation’s Scorekeeper” regarding the trends and anomalies of weather and climate. NCDC’s climate data have been used in a variety of applications including agriculture, air quality, construction, education, energy, engineering, forestry, health, insurance, landscape design, livestock management, manufacturing, national security, recreation and tourism, retailing, transportation, and water resources management.”

“Participation is free, however registration is required. Upon registering, an e-mail confirmation of registration will include instructions for joining the Webinar. …Parts 2 and 3 of the webinar series will be presented in the spring of 2014. More information will come out on those individual webinars later.”

The NCDC webinar is directly at: http://login.icohere.com/connect/d_connect_itemframer.cfm?vsDTTitle=NCDC%20%2D%20The%20World%3Fs%20Largest%20Climate%20Data%20Archive&dseq=18332&dtseq=84935&emdisc=2&mkey=public1172&vbDTA=0&viNA=0&vsDTA=&PAN=2&bDTC=0&blog=0&vsSH=A

Government webinars are listed here: http://login.icohere.com/public/topics.cfm?cseq=1172.

 

Fusion Energy Education

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Fusion Energy Education

·http://fusedweb.llnl.gov/CPEP/

“The basics of fusion are deceptively simple: the process powers the sun and other stars, and it all takes place when atomic nuclei collide at high speed. But many questions remain. How can humans develop and exploit fusion energy? Is there a way to convert it more efficiently into useful mechanical, electrical, or thermal energy? This intriguing site, created by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, presents an online fusion course designed to teach students and others about how fusion works and how it might be harnessed in the future. Visitors can try out The Guided Tour to get started, or they can click on one of the Main Topics. These include Energy Sources and Conversions, Two Key Fusion Reactions, and Creating the Conditions for Fusion. Each section contains graphics, explanatory text, and various diagrams. The site also includes charts which can be printed out for classroom use.”

Source:  The Scout Report, University of Wisconsin, May 31, 2013

NOVA has a Physics Blog

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NOVA’s Physics Blog

·http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/blog/

“NOVA’s Physics Blog is billed as “the physics of nothing, everything, and all the things in between.” This “Nature of Reality” blog promises “a space that welcomes big ideas about space, time, and the universe.” The posts here include graphics, animations, and other visually compelling materials. Visitors can scroll down on the right side of the page to look over Recent Posts, Recent Comments, and the contributors to the blog. It’s a diverse group, including mathematician James Stein and physicist Frank Wilczek. Recent posts include “Why is the Higgs So Light?” and “Scientific Approaches to the Fine-Tuning Problem.” Each entry concludes with the Go Deeper area, which features the editor’s picks for further reading. [KMG]”

Source:  Today’s Scout Report from the University of Wisconsin

Cambridge University puts Isaac Newton papers online [BBC News]

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“The notebooks in which Sir Isaac Newton worked out the theories on which much classical science is based have been put online by Cambridge University.

More than 4,000 pages have been scanned, including his annotated copy of Principia Mathematica, containing Newton’s laws of motion and gravity.”

To read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-16141723

Source: Library Link of the Day, Dec. 15, 2011

 

History of the Earth, timeline of evolution of the Universe

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http://www.johnkyrk.com/evolution.html

“This is by far the best interactive display for the evolution of the earth that I have found on the internet. It creates awe and wonder along with holding a real value to linking concepts in so many areas.”

From Delicious,  Nejedj71 posted  Sept. 14, 2011

Google Earth News

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Among the updates to Google Earth are the following:

New and updated imagery from Mars

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

3D building facades for 5 cities in CA, and now Philadelphia, Portland, Austin &  Chicago

From the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) is Climate Change Tours

Source: The Sightseer Newsletter | December 2009

Google Earth Sightseer Newsletter [googlearth@google.com]

 

Science — the “Moon Issue” — January 30, 1970

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In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the "moon walk", AAAS and Science has made this issue available to everyone.  Princeton University has had access via JSTOR for some time:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/i299517

At the AAAS link, you’ll see the link to the special "Moon issue"