Word: stringing
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...compulsive nature, one that propelled Greene to the forefront of theoretical physics. He is also lauded outside the academic realm for his two bestsellers, “The Elegant Universe” and “Fabric of the Cosmos,” which brought esoteric concepts of string theory to the masses.Theoretical physicists are rarely household names, yet “The Elegant Universe” worked its way to number four on the New York Times Best-Seller List. The book was eventually made into a PBS miniseries, narrated by Greene. Now a tenured professor at Columbia University...
...proclaims that the other is defective. Melding the warring antagonists is essential to gaining insight into other great mysteries—what happened at the big bang, the true fate of matter crushed at the center of a black hole, even the nature of time. I began working on string theory—one of the most promising approaches—25 years ago, as a young graduate student hungry to make a mark on the physics world. It was an exhilarating period leading some to proclaim naively that the insights of string theory would be so sweeping that...
...Luxilon shot" all down to Luxilon string? In a 2006 article titled "The Inch that Changed Tennis Forever," Rod Cross, a physics professor at the University of Sydney, argued that the innovation in equipment that transformed topspin from a looping, defensive shot into a dive-bombing, offensive play actually happened in the late 1970s, when equipment makers widened the heads of professional rackets from nine inches to 10 (they also dropped wood for metal and eventually graphite). The extra inch allowed players to tilt the racket forward and swing from low to high without worrying about clipping the edge...
...even as strings offer greater potential for spin, players need technique to fulfill that potential. As Miller says, "the most important factor in the generation of spin is racket speed." Research by Cross at the University of Sydney has shown that pro tennis players have much less feel for strings than they think, and tend to overestimate their importance. A study published last year found that 90% of professionals could not feel a 6 lb. (2.7 kg) difference in the tension of strings in two different frames - even though most professionals insist on exacting string specifications for their matches...
Players who use Luxilon string say it feels "stiff" and "dead" on impact. But Luxilon general manager Nico van Malderen says that internal testing has shown the string is actually more powerful than the average. So it's possible that players developed aggressive topspin strokes with Luxilon because they felt they needed to swing harder to generate the same pace. As former world No. 1 Jim Courier says, "Technology has been the catalyst, but my guess is that if you forced all players to go back to technology from 1950 they would play much more aggressively than previous generations...