February 2011

February 2011

• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: Timmy the monkey goes to Fermilab
  Visitors often go bananas over Fermilab, but they rarely bring monkeys along.
• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: Slammed by science
  Bathed in orange lighting reminiscent of a beat-generation lounge, 200 people grabbed beers and pretzels and settled in to watch six particle physicists compete for their affection.
• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: Young researcher tackles world's biggest camera
  When David Lawrence joined the Brookhaven High School Research Program at age 15, he said he wanted a project challenging enough to catch the attention of the judges at the Intel Science Talent Search.
• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: SLAC's science data really sticks
  To keep track of the roughly 35 papers the BaBar collaboration will publish in the next year, the high-tech experiment went low-tech this summer. It transferred data from computers to Post-it notes.
• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: Neutrino fishermen catch whales, too
  Biologist Gianni Pavan joined the Ocean Noise Detection Experiment in 2000 to help physicist Giorgio Riccobene distinguish various marine background noises from the sounds neutrinos make when they interact with ocean water.
• February 1, 2011
  signal to background: Way of the metallurgist
  For the Japanese samurai, the long-bladed katana sword embodied honor and the prestige of their warrior class. For Jon Kellar, metallurgical engineering professor at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, it embodies a perfect design project for his students.
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  February 1, 2011
  logbook: OPERA’s first tau neutrino
  On May 31, 2010, at Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, Antonio Ereditato, spokesperson of the OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion tRacking Apparatus) experiment, reported to the scientific community the detection of the first candidate event for the appearance of a tau neutrino in a beam of muon neutrinos, a sought-after sign for neutrino oscillations.
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  February 1, 2011
  explain it in 60 seconds: Discovery
  Discovery is the process of uncovering something new. It can be a surprise, like learning that you enjoy an exotic food, or the result of determined effort, like finding a shorter route to work.
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  February 1, 2011
  application: Food packaging
  Traditional methods for sterilizing empty packaging are simple and effective, but have environmental drawbacks. Low-energy electron beams from particle accelerators provide an environmentally friendly alternative.
• February 1, 2011
  deconstruction: Cosmic gall
  In December 1960, The New Yorker published John Updike's poem about the neutrino, a ghost-like particle discovered a few years before. Titled “Cosmic Gall,” Updike's poem examines the neutrino's bizarre properties. Little did he know how weird things would get: Scientists not only found two more types of neutrinos, but also discovered that the three types transform into each other. Here is a brief summary of what we know about the neutrino 40 years later.
• February 1, 2011
  gallery: Particle physics photowalk
  Picturing the world's particle physics laboratories.
• February 1, 2011
  feature: Global from the get-go?
  Experiments in particle physics have decades of experience as thoroughly international collaborations. Can the giant accelerators that power these experiments make the leap to go global as well?
• February 1, 2011
  feature: The LSST's supersized sweep of the sky
  The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will plumb a bigger volume of the universe than any survey before it, isn't just a challenge for astronomers. It also requires the expertise of high-energy physicists, who play key roles in advancing the flourishing field of survey astronomy.
• February 1, 2011
  feature: Crossing the valley of death
  Many a promising innovation dies on its way from the research lab to the commercial market. But with help from government or industry, the survival odds increase.
• February 1, 2011
  commentary: Courtney Williams: Luring young people with high-energy physics
  As I sat in secondary-school physics lessons, I couldn't wait for it all to be over. My interest in physics had been diluted to homeopathic levels by rote learning and mindless calculations. I was ready to give up and become a medic.
• February 1, 2011
  editorial: Pizza and particle physics at the Parker Pie Co.
  At a nearby table, half a dozen Vermonters were engaged in a lively discussion. About——I am not making this up——neutrinos.