Scientific American Magazine Vol 214 Issue 1

Scientific American Magazine

Volume 214, Issue 1

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Features

Communication by Laser

The unique properties of the light produced by lasers open the way to the eventual exploitation of light waves for the long-distance transmission of electrical signals

Stewart E. Miller

A Transpacific Contact in 3000 B.C.

Archaeological evidence strongly indicates that pottery found in Ecuador, the oldest known in the New World, was introduced there by fishermen who had drifted from Japan

Betty J. Meggers, Clifford Evans

The Bacterial Chromosome

When bacterial DNA is labeled with radioactive atoms, it takes its own picture. Autoradiographs reveal that the bacterial chromosome is a single very long DNA molecule and show how it is duplicated

John Cairns

The Ranger Missions to the Moon

Nine months after Ranger IX provided live television close-ups of the moon, the entire program of Ranger launchings is assessed

H. M. Schurmeier, R. L. Heacock, A. E. Wolfe

Orchids

There are more than 20,000 species of them, comprising the largest family of plants. Not all of them bear the ornate flowers used for corsages, but their evolutionary adaptations are remarkably diverse

Joseph Arditti

Chemistry at High Velocities

Chemical change is classically studied as it occurs at minimum energies. “Hot” atoms, colliding at higher energies, yield new reactions and a broader view of the nature of chemical change

Richard Wolfgang

Adaptations to Cold

One mechanism is increased generation of heat by a rise in the rate of metabolism, but this process has its limits. The alternatives are insulation and changes in the circulation of heat by the blood

Laurence Irving

Fixed-Point Theorems

These somewhat implausible laws state that points must reappear in their original positions when the surfaces on which they lie undergo certain deformations. Their practical uses are numerous

Marvin Shinbrot

Departments

Letters to the Editors: January 1966

50 and 100 Years Ago: January 1966

The Authors

Science and the Citizen: January 1966

Mathematical Games

The Amateur Scientist

Books

Bibliography