Book Review: Hocus bogus, Gary, Romain.

A review of Romain Gary\u27s Hocus Bogus

Element Settling in the Solar Interior

Element settling inside the Sun now becomes detectable from the comparison of the observed oscillation modes with the results of the theoretical models. This settling is due, not only to gravitation, but also to thermal diffusion and radiative acceleration (although this last effect is small compared to the two others). It leads to abundance variations of helium and heavy elements of $\cong 10$ below the convective zone. Although not observable from spectroscopy, such variations lead to non-negligible modifications of the solar internal structure and evolution. Helioseismology is a powerful tool to detect such effects, and its positive results represent a great success for the theory of stellar evolution. Meanwhile, evidences are obtained that the element settling is slightly smoothed down, probably due to mild macroscopic motions below the convective zone. Additional observations of the abundances of both Solar $^7$Li and $^3$He lead to specific constraints on these particular motions.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, paper presented at the workshop on Solar Composition and its Evolution - From Core to Corona, Berne, 26-30 January 9

Love thy extra-terrestrial neighbour: Charity and compassion in Luc Besson’s space operas The Fifth Element (1997) and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

The role of romantic love in cinema – and its redeeming aspects – has been extensively explored in film studies and beyond. However, non-romantic aspects of love, especially love for the neighbour, have not yet received as much attention. This is particularly true when looking at mainstream science fiction cinema. This is surprising as the interstellar outlook of many of these films and consequently the interaction with a whole range of new ‘neighbours’ raises an entirely new set of challenges. In this article, the author explores these issues with regard to Luc Besson’s science-fiction spectacles The Fifth Element (1997) and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017). Both films have divided fans and critics and it is indeed easy to dismiss them as mere spectacle with little depth or message, as many reviewers have done. Yet, as this article demonstrates, beneath their shiny, colourful surface, both films make a distinct contribution to the theme of neighbourly love. What is more, Besson’s films often seem to develop a close link between more common notions of romantic love and agapic forms of love and thus offer a perspective of exploring our relationship to the alien as our neighbour.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio