“My Favorite Things,” physics edition

MAY 01, 2025

Randall Kamien

Superconductors¹ and other exotics²
Self-learning networks³ and nanorobotics⁴
Various planets surrounded by rings⁵
These are a few of my favorite things

Landau and Lifshitz^6–15 and extra dimensions¹⁶^,¹⁷
(Don’t forget Einstein’s summation conventions¹⁸)
Structural color on butterfly wings¹⁹
These are a few of my favorite things

Confluent membranes all covered with live cells²⁰
Snowflakes that stick to the spheres²¹ and the micelles
Unification as promised by strings²²
These are a few of my favorite things

Bad reviewers!
Grant renewals!
When I’m feeling had
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so mad

References

1. J. Bardeen, L. N. Cooper, J. R. Schrieffer, Phys. Rev. 106, 162 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.106.162
2. R. P. Feynman, M. Cohen, Phys. Rev. 102, 1189 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.102.1189
3. J. J. Hopfield, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 2554 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.79.8.2554
4. R. P. Feynman, in Miniaturization, H. D. Gilbert, ed., Reinhold (1961), chap. 16.
5. B. A. Smith et al., Science 204, 951 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.204.4396.951
6. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, Mechanics, 3rd ed., J. B. Sykes, J. S. Bell, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1976).
7. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, The Classical Theory of Fields, 4th rev. ed., M. Hamermesh, Butterworth-Heinemann (1975).
8. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory, 3rd ed., rev., J. B. Sykes, J. S. Bell, trans., Pergamon Press (1977).
9. V. B. Berestetskii, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii, Quantum Electrodynamics, 2nd ed., J. B. Sykes, J. S. Bell, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1982).
10. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, Statistical Physics, 3rd ed., rev., J. B. Sykes, M. J. Kearsley, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1980).
11. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, Fluid Mechanics, 2nd ed., rev., J. B. Sykes, W. H. Reid, trans., Pergamon Press (1987).
12. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, Theory of Elasticity, 3rd ed., rev., J. B. Sykes, W. H. Reid, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1986).
13. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii, Electrodynamics of Continuous Media, 2nd ed., rev., J. B. Sykes, J. S. Bell, M. J. Kearsley, trans., Pergamon Press (1984).
14. E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii, Statistical Physics, Part 2: Theory of the Condensed State, J. B. Sykes, M. J. Kearsley, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1980).
15. E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii, Physical Kinetics, J. B. Sykes, R. N. Franklin, trans., Butterworth-Heinemann (1981).
16. T. Kaluza, Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., 1921, 966.
17. O. Klein, Z. Phys. 37, 895 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01397481
18. A. Einstein, Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 49, 769 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.19163540702
19. H. A. Hagen, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 17, 234 (1881). https://doi.org/10.2307/25138651
20. H. Honda, J. Theor. Biol. 72, 523 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(78)90315-6
21. H. Wan et al., Nat. Commun. 15, 3442 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47844-x
22. M. B. Green, J. H. Schwarz, Phys. Lett. B 149, 117 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(84)91565-X

More about the Authors

Randall Kamien. (kamien@upenn.edu) University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.