Several current and planned lightsources are powered by linear accelerators, such as SLAC National Accelerator Lab's X-ray lightsource, known as the LCLS, and Jefferson Lab's Free-Electron Laser.
Fermilab scientists are using what look like dime-store toys to polish specialized accelerator cavities, each of which costs about as much as a brandnew Maserati.
As physics lab environments go, one could do worse than sharing the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean or the animal-dotted ice shelves of Antarctica with 20 pancake-cooking, dart-playing Swedish sailors.
On Mount Aragats, the highest point in the Armenian landscape, atop a volcano ribboned with glaciers, lava-born fissures, and medieval fortifications, an early 20th century observatory is leading Armenian physics in new, 21st century directions.
Every summer weekend, several dozen CERN physicists gather to enjoy a beloved American tradition: They play for the Quarks and the Leptons in an international softball league.
It was my first morning in Tokyo. Carrying a camera, an offering of saké, and a note in Japanese that I hoped explained why I was there, I stepped into the sumo training hall to watch the days practice.
At 3:10 a.m. on October 13, 1985, scientists with the Collider Detector at Fermilab experiment informed the main control room that they had observed the Tevatron colliders first antiproton proton collision.
For many patients with serious burn wounds, the most dreaded visitor each day is the doctor or nurse who arrives to change the bandages. But accelerator-treated bandages can create healing environment.
It all started with a swimming hole. In 1988, Maggie Keswick, the wife of noted architect and designer Charles Jencks, had a swamp dug up on her familys Scottish estate to create a place for their children to swim.
For birders, it all comes down to that moment. Focus your binoculars, steady your hands, and look, hard, until you find that glimpse of feathers, a spark of recognition. Do you see it?
Some exploding stars release bursts of oddball neutrinos. Scientists with the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment are eager to catch those neutrinos and milk them for discoveries.
A new type of particle collider known as a muon collider considered a wild idea a decade ago is winning over skeptics as scientists find solutions to the machine's many technological challenges.
