For the Love of Physics (52 page)

discovery of X-ray flux from,
213
–16

Shklovsky model and,
239
–40,
243

Shanghai Maglev Train,
164

Shapley, Harlow,
33

Shift
(Struycken),
266

Shklovsky, Joseph,
239
–40,
243
,
253

short circuits,
142
–43

silicon,
219

singularity,
228
–29,
233
–34

Sirius,
31

A,
236

B,
236
–37,
241

sitar,
115

skin effect,
145
–46

Skylab,
24

Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS),
5
,
108

Slumdog Millionaire
(film),
141

small-angle approximation,
53

Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC),
32
,
33

snorkels, snorkeling,
67
–70

sodium iodide crystals,
207

solar eclipse,
79

solar energy,
181
–82

solar system,
107
,
261

solar wind,
10
,
107
,
194

auroras and,
153
–54

“Some of Walter Lewin’s Best Lines” (video),
xii

sound, sound waves,
92

amplitude of,
104
–6

from big bang,
107
,
108
–9

from black hole,
108

frequency of,
104
,
105
–6

fundamental character of,
104

intensity of,
105

pitch and,
105

plasma and,
107
–8

resonance and,
see
resonance

in space,
107
–9

speed of,
103
–4,
105

wavelength of,
104
–5

southern cross,
213

southern lights (aurora australis),
153
–54

Soviet Union,
98
,
253
–54

space,
19
,
269

sound waves in,
107
–9

X-rays detected in,
17
–18,
187
–88,
199
,
200
–201

Space Research Institute, Soviet,
253

spacetime,
269

gravity and,
226
–27

spaghettification,
233
–34

sparks,
206
–7

electrons and,
138

lightning and,
138
–41

noise of,
139

special relativity, theory of,
19
,
269

spectrum:

absorption lines of,
237
–39

of black bodies,
250

standard atmosphere,
61

standard candles,
34

star clusters,
51

Starry Night
(van Gogh),
267

stars,
6
,
189
–90,
226

binary,
51
,
235

brightness and luminosity of,
32
–33

core pressure of,
218

energy generated by,
218

gravity generated by,
218

heat of,
218
–19

measuring distance of,
see
stellar distances, measurement of

nuclear fusion in,
218

as standard candle,
34

white dwarf,
230
,
241
,
244
,
245

see also
Cepheid variables;
specific stars

static electricity,
125
–28

Stein, Leo,
267
–68

stellar distances, measurement of:

Cepheid variables and,
32
–34,
36

Doppler effect and,
34
–35

evolution of astronomy and,
27
–28

expansion of the universe and,
34
–35

Hubble’s constant and,
35
–36

parallax and,
28
–31,
34
,
36

standard candles and,
34

systematic error and,
31

stellar-mass black holes,
234

stellar rotation,
220

Stieber, Nancy,
xiii

Stradivarius family,
114

straws,
63
–66

stringed instruments,
111
–15

color (timbre) of,
112

harmonics and,
114
–15

loudness of,
112
–13

overtones and,
112

resonanace frequency and,
11
–13

sympathetic strings and,
115

string theory,
22
–23

resonance and,
116
–17

strong nuclear force,
9
,
18
,
36
,
167

Struycken, Peter,
264
–67

Stukeley, William,
49

submarines,
70
–71

Sun,
3
,
5
,
10
,
28
,
33
,
49
–50,
57
,
227

core temperature of,
218

Earth’s distance from,
181
,
281
–82

energy radiated by,
192
,
218

magnetic field of,
153

mass of,
279

solar flares of,
154

X-ray radiation from,
192
–93,
194

sunglasses,
91
–92

Sunyaev, Rashid,
253

superconductors,
163

Supernova 1987A,
222
–23

supernovas,
xiv
,
192
,
196
–97,
217

core-collapse,
see
core-collapse supernova

X-rays from,
223

superstring theory,
22

Swank, Jean,
251

synchrotron radiation,
192

systemic error,
31

Tacoma Narrows Bridge,
123

Taurus (constellation),
196

Tau X-1 (X-ray source),
196

telescopes,
38
,
190

IceCube,
190

neutrino,
190

radio,
187

in X-ray ballooning,
204
,
206
–8,
209
–11

Tellefson, Christiane,
258

theory of everything,
22
,
116
,
167

thermal neutrinos,
221

Third Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-3),
248
–49,
253
,
254
,
256
,
258
,
259

Thorne, Kip,
242

Thorsos, Terry,
214

Three Mile Island,
185

timbre (color),
112

torque,
157
–58

reversal of,
159

Torricelli, Evangelista,
66
–67

trees,
72
–73

triboelectric series,
127
,
132
,
135
,
140

tritium,
6
–7,
187

trombone,
119
,
121

tropopause,
204

trumpet,
112

tuba,
121

tungsten,
151

tuning fork,
104

amplitude and frequency of,
106

frequency of,
106
,
109
–10

harmonics and,
115
–16