Scientific American Magazine Vol 199 Issue 4

Scientific American Magazine

Volume 199, Issue 4

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Features

The Stellarator

Described at last month's Geneva conference, this experimental device for fusion power research employs a twisted magnetic field to contain an ionized gas and electric fields to heat it

Lyman Spitzer Jr.

Cells at High Pressure

Temperature and pressure are basic factors in physical and chemical processes, but it is only recently that biologists have considered the role of pressure in the physical and chemical processes of life

Douglas Marsland

The Tails of Comets

It has long been assumed that the gases of a comet tail are pushed away from the comet by the pressure of light from the sun. It now appears that many tails are caused by a wind of charged particles

Ludwig F. Biermann, Rhea Lüst

The Indo-European Language

The descendants of this forgotten tongue include English, Sanskrit and Greek. By comparing its "daughter languages" with one another, linguists have learned how it sounded and even where it originated

Paul Thieme

The Regeneration of Body Parts

How is it that a salamander can regrow an amputated limb but a higher animal cannot? The question is investigated by means of experiments with the salamander and the frog

Marcus Singer

Ulcers in "Executive" Monkeys

In which monkeys subjected to psychological stress in a laboratory apparatus develop gastrointestinal lesions. The technique provides a promising means of studying the causes of psychosomatic diseases

Joseph V. Brady

Lignin

This important constituent of wood is slowly yielding to efforts to isolate it and determine its molecular structure. Now almost entirely wasted, it may ultimately become a valuable raw material

F. F. Nord, Walter J. Schubert

Bogs

When a lake is filled with silt and organic debris, it gives way to a unique system of living things and their remains. These wet spots on the land may have a significant effect on world climate

Edward S. Deevey Jr.

Departments

Letters to the Editors, October 1958

50 and 100 Years Ago: October 1958

The Authors

Science and the Citizen: October 1958

Mathematical Games

The Amateur Scientist

Books

Bibliography