Superphnix: A Full-Scale Breeder Reactor
The decision has been made to begin the construction in France of a 1,200-megawatt breeder-reactor power station. The joint European project will be the prototype of future nuclear plants...
Features
Waves in the Solar Wind
The solar wind is the sun's outer atmosphere expanding into space. Variations in its speed are interpreted as velocity waves that evolve with distance, much as ocean waves steepen as they approach a beach...
Opiate Receptors and Internal Opiates
Morphine and its derivatives seem to exert their effects by binding to specific receptor sites on cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Morphinelike substances within the body may also act at those sites...
Biological Nitrogen Fixation
Only a few bacteria and simple algae have the cellular equipment needed to "fix" the nitrogen of the atmosphere into ammonia. They are the major suppliers of this limited agricultural resource...
The Acoustics of the Singing Voice
The voice organ is an instrument consisting of a power supply (the lungs), an oscillator (the vocal folds) and a resonator (the larynx, pharynx and mouth), Singers adjust the resonator in special ways...
The Oldest Rocks and the Growth of Continents
Did most of the continental crust emerge early in the earth's history, or was much of it added later by tectonic processes? Recent advances in the dating of ancient rocks lend strong support to the latter view...
Flashlight Fishes
These marine species light up the water with a large organ under each eye containing living luminous bacteria. They use the light to see by, to communicate, to lure prey and to confuse predators...
The Earliest Maya
Archaeological excavations in Belize in Central America have pushed back the origins of the Maya to 2500 B.C. The buildings and pottery uncovered clearly foreshadow the splendor of the Classic Maya period...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago, March 1977
Science and the Citizen, March 1977
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, March 1977
- Recommended
Books, March 1977
- Mathematical Recreation
Mathematical Games, March 1977
- Departments
The Authors, March 1977
Bibliography, March 1977
