October 2011

October 2011

• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: Science worth trudging for
  Would you walk 10,000 steps for a piece of glass the size of a deck of cards? What if that piece of glass were part of an astrophysics experiment to warn people about potentially deadly asteroids zooming toward Earth and make a 3D map of the universe?
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  October 1, 2011
  explain it in 60 seconds: Symmetry
  Symmetry is an expression of exact correspondence between things.
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  October 1, 2011
  logbook: Cyclotron patent
  On January 26, 1932, Ernest Lawrence applied for a patent on the cyclotron.
• October 1, 2011
  day in the life: A physicist in the cancer lab
  Nicole Ackerman thought she would always be a particle physicist—until a newfound interest in biology drew her toward medical imaging. Her research on Cherenkov radiation, the blue glow from charged particles outracing light, could aid development of cancer treatments.
• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: The geekiest engagement ever
  Dave Mosher wanted his wedding proposal to go off with a bang. A big bang.
• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: Old detectors never die
  Although BaBar completed its experimental run in 2008, it's not bound for the graveyard. Instead, the detector has become the particle physics version of an organ donor: Other laboratories are making use of its disassembled parts.
• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: A deck of particles
  Want to play with subatomic particles? You could go to work at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, RHIC—or you could play a new card game.
• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: Lego Belle II
  Particle detectors help physicists study the fundamental building blocks of matter. Now building blocks can help people study detectors.
• October 1, 2011
  signal to background: A smashin' good taste
  What beverage could capture the essence of a high-energy subatomic particle collision? It would require specific elements: rareness, a blend of flavors, a twist on technology.
• October 1, 2011
  feature: Solving for X
  A proposed new accelerator complex at Fermilab would open up the Intensity Frontier of particle physics.
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  October 1, 2011
  application: Ink curing
  Next time you pour yourself a bowl of Cheerios, thank the particle accelerator that brought you the bright yellow box. A growing number of printing companies are using innovative accelerator technology to print the cereal boxes that grace the breakfast table.
• October 1, 2011
  deconstruction: Neutrino experiments
  Neutrinos zip straight through the Earth, while rarely leaving a trace. Yet these particles may hold answers to many of the key questions of 21st century particle physics. Around the world, scientists are creating an array of increasingly sophisticated neutrino experiments to find these answers.
• October 1, 2011
  gallery: NOvA construction
  Close to the Canadian border, near an area known as the Boundary Waters, scientists are building an experiment to discover how neutrino masses stack up. They aim to get closer to understanding how matter came to dominate antimatter in our universe.
• October 1, 2011
  feature: Now playing: Reality. In 3D
  Could your life be a 3D movie? A new Fermilab experiment aims to put on the special glasses and find out.
• October 1, 2011
  editorial: Reflections at 50 (issues)
  How a little girl and a stuffed bear helped set the course for symmetry.