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On the Cover:
Physicist-photographer David Kirkby whimsically interpreted the concept of dark matter by showing this typewriter key, flipped for clarity. It represents the roughly 5 percent of the universe that is visible matter on a background of dark matter and dark energy, which are both still very mysterious. However, physicists do know how these components come together consistently in the "concordance model" of cosmology, as discussed in this issue of symmetry.
Photo courtesy of David Kirkby
March 2007:
Click here
to view the pdf of this issue.
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Editorial: Appreciating Successes
Science is a forward-thinking endeavor, more concerned with the future than the past. That makes it easy to forget great achievements already made.
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Commentary: Raymond L. Orbach
"Over the next few years, the United States and the international high-energy physics communities will see great
scientific opportunities and profound changes."
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Signal to Background
The name of fame; filming Star Wars at Fermilab; waiting on physics; hacking challenge; accelerator at the fair; letters.
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Voices: Barry Barish
"Within the last ten years, the ILC has evolved from an idea to a detailed design, produced by the Global Design Effort."
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Toward an International Linear Collider
The International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) announced the release of the Reference Design Report for the ILC in Beijing in February.
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Universal Accord
The "concordance model" is a cosmic recipe that unifies all astronomical observations to date, and though researchers do not yet understand what the ingredients are really made of, they know it tastes right.
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Working Outside the
Accelerator
A PhD in particle physics can be a stepping stone to a career outside physics research.
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Day in the Life: Traveling Detector
For million-dollar components that travel thousands of miles to become part of a particle detector, the most perilous part of the trip might be airport security.
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Deconstruction: KATRIN
Part of the KATRIN neutrino experiment made a European odyssey of 9000 km even though it started and ended its trip in Germany.
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Essay: Jennifer Ouellette
"In my experience, the majority of researchers overestimate how much science—especially physics—the general public is able
to absorb in one fell swoop."
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Logbook: Neutrino Invention
When Wolfgang Pauli first conceived of the neutrino, he dared not publish his speculation until he had consulted experimental physicists.
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Explain it in 60 Seconds: Dark Matter
Dark matter is, mildly speaking, a very strange form of matter. Although it has mass, it does not interact with everyday objects and it passes straight through our bodies. Physicists call the matter dark because it is invisible.
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