- Email: [email protected]
High-speed heterostructure devices
BOOKS & MEDIA UPDATE
Semiconductor Physics and Devices S. S. Islam Oxford University Press • 2006 • 564 pp ISBN: 0-19-567729-3 £19.99 This textbook introduces the physics of semiconductor materials and devices. It provides a comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals of semiconductors, the pn-junction, and field-effect transistors. A description of band-gap engineering is included, and the book finishes with a discussion of optoelectronic, microwave, and power electronic devices.
Applied Scanning Probe Methods II-IV Bharat Bhushan & Harald Fuchs (eds.) Springer • 2006 • 1082 pp total ISBN: 3-540-26242-3 (II) / 3-54026909-6 (III) / 3-540-26912-6 (IV) $169 / £100 / 129.95 (II and III) $139 / £77 / 99.95 (IV) The publication of volumes II-IV of this work just two years after the first indicates the fast pace at which the field of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is moving. The latest volumes capture the recent developments in these techniques. Volume II introduces SPM instrumentation and methods, volume III covers the large variety of characterization modes that now exist, and volume IV describes a range of industrial applications.
High-Speed Heterostructure Devices Patrick Roblin and Hans Rohdin Cambridge University Press • 2006 ISBN: 0-521-02423-4 • 724 pp $90 / £50 Si heterostructures and related highspeed semiconductors are spearheading the drive toward smaller, faster, and lower power devices. Roblin and Rohdin describe the underlying physics of heterostructures as well as techniques for modeling and simulating these devices. The textbook comes with a supporting set of problems and links to online MATLAB programs.
Expert Graduate Undergraduate
Scientists at the movies Christopher Frayling takes a look at cinematic portraits of scientists in his new book and asks how much these affect public perceptions of research. Lucy Dickinson | [email protected] In a recent exhibition at the London Science Museum, a life-size model of the Alien Queen from the celebrated sci-fi movies was included alongside more serious exhibits on space travel and the likely environmental characteristics of other planets. Is it time for scientists and others to give more thought to the increasingly blurred boundary between public perceptions of science and the images of scientists in popular culture? Sir Christopher Frayling, chairman of the Arts Council England, visited schools and asked children to draw images of a scientist. Not surprisingly, he turned up the usual stereotypes – men in white lab coats working amid bubbling flasks and exotic equipment straight out of a horror movie. His book, Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema, tries to look at the entire spectrum of movie depictions of scientists, from the mad genius (Dr. Strangelove, by way of Frankenstein and the 1929 German original, Rotwang in Metropolis) to the isolated-but-noble genius (the subject of a number of 1940s biopics from Pasteur to Marie Curie ). The inclusion of genres other than horror and sci-fi opens up this study compared with earlier works on a similar theme, such as Andrew Tudor’s Monsters and Mad Scientists (Blackwell, 1989), or Rational Fears by Mark Jancovich (Manchester University Press, 1996). The book is strongest where it deals with older movies. The comparison between the mad scientist and the heroic inventor, and their similar difficulties in interacting with peer groups and the public is an interesting one. At a time when many are bemoaning the difficulty in getting young people interested in scientific careers, Frayling raises the usual questions about the problems inherent in the public perception of science as an isolated and intellectually arrogant profession in contrast with the reality of the collaborative nature of most research. There is also an interesting discussion of the personas of real scientists in the media, from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking. One section I found particularly fascinating was on the inventor of the V-2 rocket, Wernher von Braun, who just about managed to escape the taint of his association with the Nazis to become director of NASA, scientific
advisor to Walt Disney, and the subject or inspiration of movies from the biopic I Aim at the Stars and The Right Stuff to, so Frayling argues, Dr. Strangelove. When we complain about inaccuracies in the latest blockbuster, perhaps we should recognize the long-standing attempts to include suggestions from scientific advisors. Unfortunately, after a thorough and interesting start, covering most of the important scientists on celluloid from the birth of cinema to the radiation-inspired monster movies of the 1950s, the book loses its way. There is very little discussion of the development of the field from 1960, with references limited to a small number of movies and TV programs. The question we need to ask is: do popular depictions of science really affect public perceptions? While it is true that cinema and TV provide some easy shorthand for media discussions of topical issues (from ‘Frankenstein foods’ to ‘Big Brother’ surveillance technology), is the cultural language used the cause or effect of the perceived gap between scientists and Christopher Frayling
Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema Reaktion Books • 2005 • 256 pp • ISBN: 1-861-89255-1 $35 (University of Chicago Press) / £19.95
the public? When we talk about young people being politically disenfranchised, do we say they have watched too many episodes of Spin City? Scientists themselves have had some recent success in using sci-fi as a basis for introducing scientific concepts, e.g. Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science through Science Fiction Movies by Dubeck et al. (Springer, 2003). Perhaps instead of complaining about inaccuracies, we should recognize that any publicity is better than no publicity, and be glad that we are not accountants! This book would make an excellent basis for discussion with students not majoring in science, and points to the importance of educating viewers to recognize the manipulation inherent in any movie. However, to address some more up-to-date social and scientific concerns, it needs supplementing with movies that a younger audience particularly may have actually seen.
MAY 2006 | VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 5
57
Semiconductor Physics and Devices S. S. Islam Oxford University Press • 2006 • 564 pp ISBN: 0-19-567729-3 £19.99 This textbook introduces the physics of semiconductor materials and devices. It provides a comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals of semiconductors, the pn-junction, and field-effect transistors. A description of band-gap engineering is included, and the book finishes with a discussion of optoelectronic, microwave, and power electronic devices.
Applied Scanning Probe Methods II-IV Bharat Bhushan & Harald Fuchs (eds.) Springer • 2006 • 1082 pp total ISBN: 3-540-26242-3 (II) / 3-54026909-6 (III) / 3-540-26912-6 (IV) $169 / £100 / 129.95 (II and III) $139 / £77 / 99.95 (IV) The publication of volumes II-IV of this work just two years after the first indicates the fast pace at which the field of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is moving. The latest volumes capture the recent developments in these techniques. Volume II introduces SPM instrumentation and methods, volume III covers the large variety of characterization modes that now exist, and volume IV describes a range of industrial applications.
High-Speed Heterostructure Devices Patrick Roblin and Hans Rohdin Cambridge University Press • 2006 ISBN: 0-521-02423-4 • 724 pp $90 / £50 Si heterostructures and related highspeed semiconductors are spearheading the drive toward smaller, faster, and lower power devices. Roblin and Rohdin describe the underlying physics of heterostructures as well as techniques for modeling and simulating these devices. The textbook comes with a supporting set of problems and links to online MATLAB programs.
Expert Graduate Undergraduate
Scientists at the movies Christopher Frayling takes a look at cinematic portraits of scientists in his new book and asks how much these affect public perceptions of research. Lucy Dickinson | [email protected] In a recent exhibition at the London Science Museum, a life-size model of the Alien Queen from the celebrated sci-fi movies was included alongside more serious exhibits on space travel and the likely environmental characteristics of other planets. Is it time for scientists and others to give more thought to the increasingly blurred boundary between public perceptions of science and the images of scientists in popular culture? Sir Christopher Frayling, chairman of the Arts Council England, visited schools and asked children to draw images of a scientist. Not surprisingly, he turned up the usual stereotypes – men in white lab coats working amid bubbling flasks and exotic equipment straight out of a horror movie. His book, Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema, tries to look at the entire spectrum of movie depictions of scientists, from the mad genius (Dr. Strangelove, by way of Frankenstein and the 1929 German original, Rotwang in Metropolis) to the isolated-but-noble genius (the subject of a number of 1940s biopics from Pasteur to Marie Curie ). The inclusion of genres other than horror and sci-fi opens up this study compared with earlier works on a similar theme, such as Andrew Tudor’s Monsters and Mad Scientists (Blackwell, 1989), or Rational Fears by Mark Jancovich (Manchester University Press, 1996). The book is strongest where it deals with older movies. The comparison between the mad scientist and the heroic inventor, and their similar difficulties in interacting with peer groups and the public is an interesting one. At a time when many are bemoaning the difficulty in getting young people interested in scientific careers, Frayling raises the usual questions about the problems inherent in the public perception of science as an isolated and intellectually arrogant profession in contrast with the reality of the collaborative nature of most research. There is also an interesting discussion of the personas of real scientists in the media, from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking. One section I found particularly fascinating was on the inventor of the V-2 rocket, Wernher von Braun, who just about managed to escape the taint of his association with the Nazis to become director of NASA, scientific
advisor to Walt Disney, and the subject or inspiration of movies from the biopic I Aim at the Stars and The Right Stuff to, so Frayling argues, Dr. Strangelove. When we complain about inaccuracies in the latest blockbuster, perhaps we should recognize the long-standing attempts to include suggestions from scientific advisors. Unfortunately, after a thorough and interesting start, covering most of the important scientists on celluloid from the birth of cinema to the radiation-inspired monster movies of the 1950s, the book loses its way. There is very little discussion of the development of the field from 1960, with references limited to a small number of movies and TV programs. The question we need to ask is: do popular depictions of science really affect public perceptions? While it is true that cinema and TV provide some easy shorthand for media discussions of topical issues (from ‘Frankenstein foods’ to ‘Big Brother’ surveillance technology), is the cultural language used the cause or effect of the perceived gap between scientists and Christopher Frayling
Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema Reaktion Books • 2005 • 256 pp • ISBN: 1-861-89255-1 $35 (University of Chicago Press) / £19.95
the public? When we talk about young people being politically disenfranchised, do we say they have watched too many episodes of Spin City? Scientists themselves have had some recent success in using sci-fi as a basis for introducing scientific concepts, e.g. Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science through Science Fiction Movies by Dubeck et al. (Springer, 2003). Perhaps instead of complaining about inaccuracies, we should recognize that any publicity is better than no publicity, and be glad that we are not accountants! This book would make an excellent basis for discussion with students not majoring in science, and points to the importance of educating viewers to recognize the manipulation inherent in any movie. However, to address some more up-to-date social and scientific concerns, it needs supplementing with movies that a younger audience particularly may have actually seen.
MAY 2006 | VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 5
57