Archive

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12/11/12

Decay channel

When particles decay, they transform into lighter particles. Physicists can predict how often a particle will decay into certain end products.

12/10/12

Zombies invade the LHC in student-made horror film

Decay, a low-budget horror film starring PhD students and postdocs at CERN, has been released online.

12/07/12

‘Human calculator’ Wim Klein advanced physics, inspired others

Math whiz Wim Klein, born a century ago, moved physics forward with his calculations as computer developers worked to catch up with him.

12/06/12

Budget woes force rethink of proposed flagship physics experiment in Italy

The Italian government has withdrawn funding for a high-profile proposed experiment. Scientists are now brainstorming other ways to advance particle physics.

12/05/12

Scientists propose new projects to unravel dark energy secrets

Scientists have risen to the challenge to design an experiment that will make measurements of millions of galaxies to probe dark energy in new ways.

Illustration purple space, sea-foam green galaxies, planet in center, yellow telescope coming out of orange circle eye inside

12/03/12

Complex simulations: a driving force for LSST

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the world’s largest sky survey, will rain a monsoon of data onto the astrophysics community. Simulations prepare scientists for the approaching storm.

12/03/12

Crystals show promise as particle pilots in LHC

Scientists are exploring using tiny crystals to remove rogue particles from the world's most powerful collider.

11/30/12

Physics education program QuarkNet develops global reach

A professional development program created in the United States to help teachers explain particle physics has caught on across the world.

11/27/12

Stellar black widows entrap companion stars

Of the hundreds of objects in the universe emitting gamma rays, two look to be "black widows," ancient stars extending their lives by sucking in material from companion stars. Stanford physicist Roger Romani is hot on the trail of these extreme stars.

11/27/12

Thanksgiving in the Main Control Room

The daughter of the Tevatron particle collider’s Mr. Fix-It continues a tradition of providing cheer for operators stuck at work on the holiday.

11/26/12

Contributing to an LHC experiment, no transatlantic travel required

Scientists participate in the CMS experiment from afar using remote operations centers.

11/21/12

Cosmic rays

Enrico Fermi's notebook of December 1948 contains four pages that represent the genesis of his theory of cosmic rays, particles that can hit the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds.

11/21/12

Fermilab's first physics slam a smash hit

Five scientists spent a Friday night on stage competing to see who could best convey the fun of particle physics.

Illustration of a Higgs Factory "Linear Collider" "Circular Collider" "Muon Collider" "Gamma Collider"

11/20/12

A bouquet of options: Higgs factory ideas bloom

Now that a Higgs-like boson has been discovered at the Large Hadron Collider, proposals to build colliders that churn out the new particle are gathering momentum.

11/19/12

Web Tour

You're invited to take an interactive tour of our new homepage.

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11/19/12

Arrow of time prefers to point forward

To a single, isolated particle, time’s arrow could work just as well pointing forward as backward. But it doesn’t, says the BaBar collaboration.