A joint Fermilab/SLAC publication
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04/01/08

Now that's serious metal music

Tesla coils always draw crowds, and the DucKon science fiction convention in Naperville, Illinois, was no exception. People gathered around the seven-foot-tall metal transformer tower and awaited its monotone crackle, purple sparks, and thrilling flashes of artificial lightning.

An illustration of tumbling dice
04/01/08

Rare decays

Scientists search for rare decays to test their understanding of how matter behaves.

04/01/08

Tobin Rothlein: Physics tour inspires dance

When I set out for Chicago with a group of artists last year, I knew almost nothing about particle physics or about Fermilab, where we hoped to find inspiration for a singular performance project called “Principles of Uncertainty.”

04/01/08

Miro dance theater

In an empty urban lot beneath an overpass in Philadelphia, drummers beat a slow and steady rhythm. Two groups of dancers circle them in opposite directions.

"Outsider" scientists await approval for their creations in a pretend office setting
04/01/08

Outsider science

Amateur scientists make important contributions in a number of fields, from astronomy to ornithology. But very few have the background needed to succeed in high-energy physics.

An illustration of a Mayan pyramid
04/01/08

Secrets of the pyramids

In a boon for archaeology, particle physicists plan to probe ancient structures for tombs and other hidden chambers. The key to the technology is the muon, a cousin of the electron that rains harmlessly from the sky.

04/01/08

From atom smashers to X-ray movies

When particle accelerators gave birth to the powerful X-ray microscopes known as synchrotrons, they revolutionized the study of virtually every field of science.

04/01/08

The balance of science

Particle physics, particle astrophysics, and cosmology are all extreme sciences. They investigate phenomena at one end or the other of various scales: the highest energies, the smallest sizes, the rarest events, the longest distances.