Thank you to our referees April 8, 2021–May 31, 2022

Abstract

I’ve always been fascinated by fractals, especially the Sierpinski gasket, shown at right, and in a beautiful pyramidal arrangement in the background of this spread. To make such a gasket, all you do is remove the interior of the middle equilateral triangle (the upside down one) over and over again, at successively smaller and smaller scales. What results is something that is more than one dimensional, but less than two dimensional—in fact, it can be shown to have dimension D, where D is given by the relation 2D=3, or D ≈ 1.585…. In this issue of TPT, we feature on page 410 a paper by Charles Creffield, “Fractals on a Benchtop: Observing Fractal Dimension in a Resistor Network,” where he details how his students set up resistors in a similar network and mimic fractal resistance effects … doubly fascinating! I wanted to share this imagery with you in appreciation of the hundreds of generous, smart, and gracious individuals who serve as TPT referees. When I look over this list of names, I see many of the people I admire most in the world, and it makes me optimistic in a way that few things can these days. If you see someone you know in this list, please find a way to express your thanks for all they do for TPT and for physics teachers and students everywhere. When I imagine all the connections between the people on this list, it calls to my mind all of the connections between the dark regions in the figure at right—a Sierpinski gasket of physicists, held together by their common ideas. What could be more fun to think about!? Thank you, again, dear referees; you are the glue that holds this community together, in my view.