October 2012

October 30, 2012
signal to background: Video: A synchrotron rescues an ancient warship

Ritimukta Sarangi explains how knowledge gained at a light source has helped save wooden artifacts including the Mary Rose, a 500-year-old warship.
October 30, 2012
feature: What else could the Higgs be?

Scientists might need to go beyond the Standard Model to explain the mass of the Higgs-like boson observed at the Large Hadron Collider.
October 29, 2012
signal to background: Dark-matter seekers get help from the DarkSide

Filled with rare, low-radioactivity material, the DarkSide-50 experiment will have some of the lowest background rates of any dark-matter detector. That should help it detect highly sought-after dark-matter candidates called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs.
October 25, 2012
signal to background: Plasma accelerators: High quality, even by the slice

Researchers at Berkeley Lab have measured the quality of beam produced by a plasma accelerator, revealing that this novel type of accelerator may be better suited for light-source science than previously thought.
October 24, 2012
signal to background: Plasma accelerators: Finding focus

As physicists design new "tabletop" accelerators that power particles with plasma, they also need to reinvent the tools they use to view the beam.
October 23, 2012
breaking: SLAC gets a new director

X-ray scientist Chi-Chang Kao will serve as SLAC's fifth director, assuming the role on November 1.
October 23, 2012
explain it in 60 seconds: Gravitational waves

If you could detect a bowling ball’s gravitational waves, you would know when someone threw the ball—even if you were standing outside the bowling alley.
October 19, 2012
signal to background: Learning to play the dark matter boogie

A growing suite of computational instruments is helping scientists determine how fast local concentrations of dark matter move, which in turn could help them cut in on the dance of dark matter particles.
October 18, 2012
breaking: Angry Birds to teach particle physics

The vengeful Angry Birds cardinal sets his sights on a new target: teaching kids particle physics.
October 16, 2012
feature: Bringing the universe into full focus

From supernova explosions to writhing tendrils of dark matter, visualizations give new life to models and theories.
October 15, 2012
signal to background: A summer of (physics) code

This summer, seven young coding whizzes contributed to CERN projects through the Google Summer of Code program.
October 12, 2012
signal to background: Video: Making an accelerator run

You're invited behind the scenes to see where klystrons, the devices that power particle accelerators, are born.
October 11, 2012
signal to background: Electronics in an extra dimension

3D chips—smaller and more powerful than their 2D counterparts—are beginning to make an impact in industry. Now, Fermilab is working with industrial partners to fabricate prototype 3D chips for use in science.
October 10, 2012
signal to background: Time projection chambers: a milestone in particle detector technology

At the heart of many particle physics experiments sits a device with a catchy name: the time projection chamber. With an important job and a storied history, TPCs have a special place in particle physics.
October 9, 2012
signal to background: Caring for the prairie

Volunteers at Fermilab continue the site’s rich history of environmentally responsible land management.
October 9, 2012
breaking: Nobel honors research by particle trappers

Serge Haroche and David Wineland, who opened a new era of research by building particle traps and experimenting with individual particles without destroying them, were honored with the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics.
October 5, 2012
breaking: Stars dancing around a black hole may test relativity

The Keck Observatory's observations of two stars orbiting the black hole at the center of our galaxy may reveal insight into the curvature of space-time.
October 4, 2012
signal to background: Video: Understanding the underpinnings of the universe

What are the ultimate building blocks of reality? And what are the rules that govern them?
October 2, 2012
breaking: Panofsky Prize honors researchers' underground hunt for dark matter

The search for dark matter runs deep with physicists Blas Cabrera and Bernard Sadoulet, who have chased this mystery far underground and will be recognized for their work as joint recipients of the 2013 W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics.
October 2, 2012
application: Beehives

About 30 percent of bees in the United States die of disease, infection or other causes each year, a number beekeepers say will have a serious impact on agriculture. Could particle accelerators be the solution?