Scientific American Magazine Vol 245 Issue 1

Scientific American Magazine

Volume 245, Issue 1

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Features

Values and Attitudes of the Polish People

Recent events in Poland, illuminated by 25 years of social research, are shown to stem not from a change in values but from a demand for social institutions more in accord with values consistently held

Stefan Nowak

The Salinity of Rivers

Rivers normally wash into the ocean the salts dissolved out of rock. When the flow is held up by irrigation, however, evapotranspiration concentrates the salt in the soil, creating problems for agriculture

Arthur F. Pillsbury

The Atmosphere of Venus

A decade of exploration by spacecraft now shows that it consists almost entirely of carbon dioxide. Its clouds of sulfuric acid are driven by winds that attain a speed of 360 kilometers per hour

Curt Covey, Gerald Schubert

Genetic Engineering in Mammalian Cells

One goal of recombinant-DNA technology iS the cure of human genetic diseases. As a step toward the goal a hereditary defect is corrected by microinjecting a single gene into a mammalian cell

Elaine G. Diacumakos, W. French Anderson

Fiber Bundles and Quantum Theory

A branch of mathematics that extends the notion of curvature to topological analogues ofa Mobius strip can help to explain prevailing theories of the interactions of elementary particles

Anthony V. Phillips, Herbert J. Bernstein

Mimicry in the Sexual Signals of Fireflies

Male fireflies flash as they fly seeking mates at night, and females of the same species flash answers hom the ground. Females of other species also answer and devour any males they can lure within reach

James E. Lloyd

Binocular Depth Inversion

Sometimes a solid object seen with both eyes can seem to reverse perspective. A study of this geometrically irrational experience suggests that ordinary depth perception is somewhat precarious

John I. Yellott

The Architecture of Christopher Wren

He was a prominent man of science and a renowned architect at the height of the Scientific Revolution, but he did not exploit principles of theoretical mechanics in designing his buildings

Harold Dorn, Robert Mark

Departments

Letters to the Editors, July 1981

50 and 100 Years Ago: July 1981

The Authors, July 1981

Metamagical Themas, July 1981

Books, July 1981

Science and the Citizen, July 1981

The Amateur Scientist, July 1981

Bibliography, July 1981