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Scholars tend to agree that American politics has become polarized along partisan and ideological lines, yet the causes of polarization are in much dispute. The author argues that polarization and the culture wars are a consequence, in part, of the changing nature of white identity after the civil rights movement. The transformation of whiteness from a form of social standing to a norm produced ressentiment among whites, which Republican strategists mobilized by depicting Democrats as the party of intellectual snobs and undeserving rabble and the GOP as the party of the virtuous middle. Normalizing this middle and the snobs as white polarized whites along partisan and ideological lines, creating an incentive to win votes by appealing to hot-button cultural issues such as welfare, abortion, and gay marriage. Keywords: whiteness; political polarization; culture wars; Spiro Agnew; ressentiment; virtuous middle

Mass spectrometry was performed on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of dodecanethiol on gold using the new direct analysis in real time (DART) ionization technique. Observed peaks for the SAMs included monomers, dimers, and trimers of the SAM molecules, with the dimer and trimer relative peak heights enhanced as compared to the spectra for neat dodecanethiol. The possibility that the observed peaks were due to residual (noncovalently bonded) material on the surface was tested by attempting to observe residual dodecanol. No peaks corresponding to dodecanol were observed. These results indicate that DART is an excellent ionization method for the direct and unambiguous mass analysis of chemical species in self-assembled monolayers.

After Whiteness: Unmaking an American Majority. By Mike Hill. New York: New York University Press, 2004. xii + 268 pages. Poor whiteness studies. No one loves it anymore. It had [...]

A method was developed for the reestablishment of chemical contrast in STM images obtained with chemically modified gold tips. Such tips display selective chemical contrast, which allows the selective imaging of specific species on the sample surface. Chemically modified STM tips can be fabricated by forming a serf-assembled monolayer (SAM) on an electrochemically etched gold tip. One difficulty with this method thus far has been the relatively short lifetime of SAM-treated tips. The method described here utilizes the brief application of a high bias voltage between the sample and the tip to cause SAM molecules to reoccupy the tip apex, thereby allowing the tips to display selective chemical contrast in imaging. These treatments consist of applying a +1.9-V sample bias for 0.5-10 min under tunneling conditions. The usable lifetime of SAM-modified tips could be increased by more than 2 orders of magnitude, from hours to at least a month, dramatically increasing the efficiency of using SAM-modified gold tips. SAM molecules can also be removed from the tip apex by application of a negative sample bias (-2.0 V for 0.5-10 min) making it possible to alternate between conventional STM images and STM images with chemically enhanced contrasts.

This article examines white resistance to the inclusion of colored people, both historically and after the civil rights movement in the US, and the implications it holds for the prospect of American democracy, because democratic means such as citizen participation can be used be white majorities to reinforce their domination. Issues addressed include the rise of American mass citizenship under President Andrew Jackson, the autheor asserts that the persistence of whiteness exists because democracy is colorblind and presupposes racial distinctions, the consequences of the prepoliticization of race are examined, the participation-inclusion dilemma of American citizenship and the politics of inclusion and difference are also discussed.

Students of chemistry can learn about nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) through simple, inexpensive demonstrations using an overhead projector. Three collinear permanent magnets will be needed. Compasses with the mineral oil removed and the interior cleaned are the source of dipoles. A magnetic stir plate or electromagnet is needed. So are wire, a mini momentary switch, a resistor, a 9-V battery holder and a metal ring. The demonstrations can be extended to other important aspects of the NMR experiment.

Refrigerator magnet (RM)-based demonstrations of scanning probe microscopy, magnetic field imaging, and magnetic read-and-write processes suitable for the classroom are explored. Flexible-sheet RMs, such as promotional items, can be used for experiments. The nature or these sheet magnets, which have U-shaped field lines for a complex and ingenious magnetic structure, and their manufacture, which involves an array of permanent magnets forming the magnetic stripes as a sheet of ferrite-Hypalon composite passes by the array, are explained. Hypalon is an elastomer, the structure for which is given

A critique is presented of an theory by Hannah Arendt about how regimes which have overthrown dictatorial rule can manage to maintain the new order without resorting to the old ways. Arendt proposes that they must be as democratic as possible by setting up councils in which the public can participate. However, Olson argues that this is too simplistic and he uses the Spanish Civil War to demonstrate his argument. Trades unions refused to participate in the councils and the revolutionaries were a threat because they were likely to reject the new form of authority too.

A laboratory experiment that can be used for teaching first-year college students on scanning tunneling microscopy through electrochemical tip etching is explained. Researchers use electrochemical etching for preparing tips for high-quality scanning tunneling microscopy imaging. The students were able to obtain atomic resolution on a graphite surface despite their lack of experience in using scanning tunneling microscopy instruments.

A refrigerator magnet can be used in the chemistry classroom to simulate a scanning-probe microscopy experiment. Most, if not all, refrigerator magnets have magnetic poles arranged in stripes. Students can discover the arrangement of the magnetic poles by cutting a strip from one end to be used as a scanning probe. The response of the probe to the magnet is explored by passing the probe strip over the magnet and observing the relative size and alignment of their magnetic fields as well as the influence of the distance between the two surfaces.