Interpretation of Solar Magnetic Field Strength Observations

This study based on longitudinal Zeeman effect magnetograms and spectral line scans investigates the dependence of solar surface magnetic fields on the spectral line used and the way the line is sampled in order to estimate the magnetic flux emerging above the solar atmosphere and penetrating to the corona from magnetograms of the Mt. Wilson 150-foot tower synoptic program (MWO). We have compared the synoptic program \lambda5250\AA line of Fe I to the line of Fe I at \lambda5233\AA since this latter line has a broad shape with a profile that is nearly linear over a large portion of its wings. The present study uses five pairs of sampling points on the $\lambda5233$\AA line. We recommend adoption of the field determined with a line bisector method with a sampling point as close as possible to the line core as the best estimate of the emergent photospheric flux. The combination of the line profile measurements and the cross-correlation of fields measured simultaneously with \lambda5250\AA and \lambda5233\AA yields a formula for the scale factor 1/\delta that multiplies the MWO synoptic magnetic fields. The new calibration shows that magnetic fields measured by the MDI system on the SOHO spacecraft are equal to 0.619+/-0.018 times the true value at a center-to-limb position 30 deg. Berger and Lites (2003) found this factor to be 0.64+/-0.013 based on a comparison the the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter.Comment: Accepted by Solar Physic

The Game, the Players, and the Board

Christopher Seaman and Thuan Tran’s fascinating article, Intellectual Property and Tabletop Games, raises important questions about the role of intellectual property in developing and distributing innovative products. The market for tabletop games, Seaman and Tran argue, is able to sustain a high level of creativity at a high up-front cost, all while protected by some but not all of the IP rights that other industries’ outputs receive. Is that evidence of IP’s necessity or its superfluousness? In this Response, I argue that the answer is a little bit of both. Whereas prior scholarship has shown the lack of an active role for IP in developing products, Seaman and Tran’s fascinating case studies suggest that IP plays a critical passive role in providing breathing space for innovations. But the example of tabletop games demonstrates that not every aspect of innovative creations—not even the most important aspects—necessarily require IP protection to be successful

Music as a social force

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Emergent Works

Nineteen sixty-four was a very important year for the Copyright Office. The copyright revision effort that would eventually become the Copyright Act of 1976 was in full swing; draft bills that largely resembled the final Act were introduced in July. The goal of this effort was to update the old 1909 Act to fully account for the incredible proliferation of mass media. Just as that effort was shifting to Congress, however, over at the Copyright Office, the first harbinger of a new set of problems was sounding: the Office issued its first registrations for computer programs

Supersonic dynamic stability characteristics of a space shuttle orbiter

Supersonic forced-oscillation tests of a 0.0165-scale model of a modified 089B Rockwell International shuttle orbiter were conducted in a wind tunnel for several configurations over a Mach range from 1.6 to 4.63. The tests covered angles of attack up to 30 deg. The period and damping of the basic unaugmented vehicle were calculated along the entry trajectory using the measured damping results. Some parameter analysis was made with the measured dynamic derivatives. Photographs of the test configurations and test equipment are shown

Aereo and the Problem of Machine Volition

Article published in the Michigan State Law Review

Constitutional Safety Valve: The Privileges or Immunities Clause and Status Regimes in a Federalist System

The American Constitution was born flawed: it failed to provide a mechanism for resolving entrenched differences in the social status regimes between states. This Article argues that part of the purpose of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was to correct that flaw. The Privileges or Immunities Clause was the culmination of a long antebellum debate over whether southern states had to respect the rights of northern black citizens as they traveled. The Clause achieves this goal by requiring states in certain circumstances to respect the status determinations of other states when the citizens of those other states travel. Although this aspect of the Privileges or Immunities Clause has long been forgotten, it survived the Supreme Court’s decision in the Slaughter-House Cases. And there is a good chance it will soon be needed again. The United States is on the verge of an entrenched conflict between states concerning the recognition of the status of marriage for same-sex couples. Although multiple resolutions are possible, the forgotten component of the Privileges or Immunities Clause may provide a more stable and effective framework for determining when states must respect the status determinations of other states. As a structural remedy rather than one based solely on individual rights, the Clause’s protection for state status determinations is only triggered when a critical mass of states line up for or against recognizing the status at issue. As a result, the Clause’s protection for state status determinations is more limited than other rights but potentially more attractive for courts disinclined to greatly expand existing doctrine. If a substantial number of states grant same-sex marriages, the Privileges or Immunities Clause will require the rest of the states to recognize those marriages for travelers

High-Density Genomewide Linkage Analysis of Exceptional Human Longevity Identifies Multiple Novel Loci

Background: Human lifespan is approximately 25 % heritable, and genetic factors may be particularly important for achieving exceptional longevity. Accordingly, siblings of centenarians have a dramatically higher probability of reaching extreme old age than the general population. Methodology/Principal Findings: To map the loci conferring a survival advantage, we performed the second genomewide linkage scan on human longevity and the first using a high-density marker panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms. By systematically testing a range of minimum age cutoffs in 279 families with multiple long-lived siblings, we identified a locus on chromosome 3p24-22 with a genomewide significant allele-sharing LOD score of 4.02 (empirical P = 0.037) and a locus on chromosome 9q31-34 with a highly suggestive LOD score of 3.89 (empirical P = 0.054). The empirical P value for the combined result was 0.002. A third novel locus with a LOD score of 4.05 on chromosome 12q24 was detected in a subset of the data, and we also obtained modest evidence for a previously reported interval on chromosome 4q22-25. Conclusions/Significance: Our linkage data should facilitate the discovery of both common and rare variants tha

Hurricane Matthew in 2100: effects of extreme sea level rise scenarios on a highly valued coastal area (Palm Beach, FL, USA)

Sea-level rise represents a severe hazard for populations living within low-elevation coastal zones and is already largely affecting coastal communities worldwide. As sea level continues to rise following unabated greenhouse gas emissions, the exposure of coastal communities to inundation and erosion will increase exponentially. These impacts will be further magnified under extreme storm conditions. In this paper, we focus on one of the most valuable coastal real estate markets globally (Palm Beach, FL). We use XBeach, an open-source hydro and morphodynamic model, to assess the impact of a major tropical cyclone (Hurricane Matthew, 2016) under three different sea-level scenarios. The first scenario (modern sea level) serves as a baseline against which other model runs are evaluated. The other two runs use different 2100 sea-level projections, localized to the study site: (i) IPCC RCP 8.5 (0.83 m by 2100) and (ii) same as (i), but including enhanced Antarctic ice loss (1.62 m by 2100). Our results show that the effective doubling of future sea level under heightened Antarctic ice loss amplifies flow velocity and wave height, leading to a 46% increase in eroded beach volume and the overtopping of coastal protection structures. This further exacerbates the vulnerability of coastal properties on the island, leading to significant increases in parcel inundation

Supersonic dynamic stability derivatives of a modified 089B shuttle orbiter

An experimental test program was conducted to measure the dynamic stability derivatives of a modified 089B shuttle orbiter. Supersonic forced oscillation tests were conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel over a range of Mach numbers from 1.6 to 4.63 for angles of attack up to 30 deg. The data were measured at the model resonant frequency with pitch and yaw amplitudes of 1 deg and a roll amplitude of 2.5 deg