Physics Buzz

In honor of yesterday's  Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day , here is a look at some important scientific advancements made by parent-child collaborations. Just imagine the dinner conversations… *Please note that each person mentioned is an esteemed scientist in his or her own right, with many other important contributions that aren’t mentioned in these brief highlights.

Researchers present evidence of sophisticated sonic illusions in ancient sites around the world. Image courtesy svachalek via flickr. (ISNS) -- Stone Age cave paintings evoke reverent silence in most people. But David Lubman, Miriam Kolar, and Steve Waller prefer to shout and clap instead. They are among a growing number of researchers probing the acoustic properties of ancient sites. Their research, presented this week in Vancouver, British Columbia at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, shows that ancient peoples created sophisticated sonic illusions in ceremonial spaces ranging from Mayan temples to Stonehenge.