关于相对性原理和等价原理在爱因斯坦引力論中的作用

引言本文目的是要分析建立引力论所依据的原理,換言之,是要分析这一理論的邏輯結构。今天看来,相对论和引力論都成了經典的东西了,但是直到目前为止,对于它們——尤其是对引力論——有时还有些不正确的观念,因而也形成了一些不正确的术语。反之,已经建立起来的不正确术语又使不正确的观念得以保存。因此,术語問题不是一个簡单的形式上的問题,而必須对它加以注意。从这观点出发,下面首先要考察“广义的相对性”和“广义相对論”这两个术語。后者一般是指爱因斯坦的引力論而言。这些术語是爱因斯坦本人引进的,它們反映着他对自己創立的理論的观点。下面簡单介紹一下这些观点。     

The breakdown of continuum models for mechanical contacts

Forces acting within the area of atomic contact between surfaces play a central role in friction and adhesion. Such forces are traditionally calculated using continuum contact mechanics, which is known to break down as the contact radius approaches atomic dimensions. Yet contact mechanics is being applied at ever smaller lengths, driven by interest in shrinking devices to nanometre scales, creating nanostructured materials with optimized mechanical properties, and understanding the molecular origins of macroscopic friction and adhesion. Here we use molecular simulations to test the limits of contact mechanics under ideal conditions. Our findings indicate that atomic discreteness within the bulk of the solids does not have a significant effect, but that the atomic-scale surface roughness that is always produced by discrete atoms leads to dramatic deviations from continuum theory. Contact areas and stresses may be changed by a factor of two, whereas friction and lateral contact stiffness change by an order of magnitude. These variations are likely to affect continuum predictions for many macroscopic rough surfaces, where studies show that the total contact area is broken up into many separate regions with very small mean radius.     

Burrowing mechanics: burrow extension by crack propagation

Until now, the analysis of burrowing mechanics has neglected the mechanical properties of impeding, muddy, cohesive sediments, which behave like elastic solids. Here we show that burrowers can progress through such sediments by using a mechanically efficient, previously unsuspected mechanism--crack propagation--in which an alternating 'anchor' system of burrowing serves as a wedge to extend the crack-shaped burrow. The force required to propagate cracks through sediment in this way is relatively small: we find that the force exerted by the annelid worm Nereis virens in making and moving into such a burrow amounts to less than one-tenth of the force it needs to use against rigid aquarium walls.     

Predictive models of molecular machines involved in Caenorhabditis elegans early embryogenesis

Although numerous fundamental aspects of development have been uncovered through the study of individual genes and proteins, system-level models are still missing for most developmental processes. The first two cell divisions of Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis constitute an ideal test bed for a system-level approach. Early embryogenesis, including processes such as cell division and establishment of cellular polarity, is readily amenable to large-scale functional analysis. A first step toward a system-level understanding is to provide 'first-draft' models both of the molecular assemblies involved and of the functional connections between them. Here we show that such models can be derived from an integrated gene/protein network generated from three different types of functional relationship: protein interaction, expression profiling similarity and phenotypic profiling similarity, as estimated from detailed early embryonic RNA interference phenotypes systematically recorded for hundreds of early embryogenesis genes. The topology of the integrated network suggests that C. elegans early embryogenesis is achieved through coordination of a limited set of molecular machines. We assessed the overall predictive value of such molecular machine models by dynamic localization of ten previously uncharacterized proteins within the living embryo.     

Nitrogen transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

Most land plants are symbiotic with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which take up mineral nutrients from the soil and exchange them with plants for photosynthetically fixed carbon. This exchange is a significant factor in global nutrient cycles as well as in the ecology, evolution and physiology of plants. Despite its importance as a nutrient, very little is known about how AMF take up nitrogen and transfer it to their host plants. Here we report the results of stable isotope labelling experiments showing that inorganic nitrogen taken up by the fungus outside the roots is incorporated into amino acids, translocated from the extraradical to the intraradical mycelium as arginine, but transferred to the plant without carbon. Consistent with this mechanism, the genes of primary nitrogen assimilation are preferentially expressed in the extraradical tissues, whereas genes associated with arginine breakdown are more highly expressed in the intraradical mycelium. Strong changes in the expression of these genes in response to nitrogen availability and form also support the operation of this novel metabolic pathway in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.     

Micrometre-scale silicon electro-optic modulator

Metal interconnections are expected to become the limiting factor for the performance of electronic systems as transistors continue to shrink in size. Replacing them by optical interconnections, at different levels ranging from rack-to-rack down to chip-to-chip and intra-chip interconnections, could provide the low power dissipation, low latencies and high bandwidths that are needed. The implementation of optical interconnections relies on the development of micro-optical devices that are integrated with the microelectronics on chips. Recent demonstrations of silicon low-loss waveguides, light emitters, amplifiers and lasers approach this goal, but a small silicon electro-optic modulator with a size small enough for chip-scale integration has not yet been demonstrated. Here we experimentally demonstrate a high-speed electro-optical modulator in compact silicon structures. The modulator is based on a resonant light-confining structure that enhances the sensitivity of light to small changes in refractive index of the silicon and also enables high-speed operation. The modulator is 12 micrometres in diameter, three orders of magnitude smaller than previously demonstrated. Electro-optic modulators are one of the most critical components in optoelectronic integration, and decreasing their size may enable novel chip architectures.