Muons: Emblems of discovery

This family tree has physics branches

Who is the grandfather of particle physics? Some might argue he is Otto Mencke, a German philosopher and scientist who received his doctorate from Leipzig University in 1688.

Dark Energy Camera scans ancient skies

Gazing into space, scientists wonder why the universe is expanding ever faster. What mysterious force is at work? By recording the light from hundreds of millions of galaxies from a mountaintop in Chile, they hope to find out what'’s going on.

Unharmed in quake, Gran Sasso lab goes to the rescue

When an earthquake flattened buildings in a number of towns across central Italy, physicists turned their focus from research to rescue and rebuilding.

Earth’s radiation belts

Physics lessons from Angels & Demons

Reyna Pratt spends her days preparing high school students in Virginia for an increasingly competitive world. They learn biology, algebra, English composition, world history, and world cultures.

An LHC detector's old Roman roots

Particle physicists probe uncharted territory for remnants of the early universe. But that is supposed to occur after their experiments turn on.

A new leader for CERN

In his first few months on the job, CERN Director-General Rolf-Dieter Heuer opens new lines of communication, oversees repairs to the Large Hadron Collider, and promotes a worldwide strategy for particle physics based on a strong mix of global, regional, and national projects.