Quarky New Particle.

Particle physics is notorious for its funny-sounding jargon, and "quark" is no exception.Physicists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a new particle, Omega-sub-b. The particle is made of three quarks (two strange quarks and one bottom quark).Quarks are fundamental particles that join together in different combinations to make more familiar particles like protons and neutrons. Omega-sub-b is about six times heavier than the mass of a proton. It was discovered by Fermilab's.. Read more »

Close Up of a Black Hole.

Scientists recently aimed three radio telescopes at center of the Milky Way, zooming in for an unprecedented close-up of the supermassive black hole, believed to be located at the center of our galaxy.By combining the radio signals researchers formed a single mammoth-sized radio telescope, almost as wide as the continental United States. The results of study add to a growing pile of evidence that a huge (4 times the mass of the sun!) black hole resides in the Milky Way's center.They were able.. Read more »

Particle Accelerators, New Wine Daters?

I love wine. Although I tend consume the cheap, boxed variety, a quality vintage always has a home in my glass.It seems French scientists, along with The Antique Wine Company (a London-based wine dealer), have found a new use for particle accelerators. They've developed a method to authenticate wines with a device originally designed to smash atoms at nearly the speed of light.According to the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the technique determines the age of the glass of wine.. Read more »

Rumors of Dark Matter.

Rumor has it that scientists have discovered dark matter through an orbiting observatory called PAMELA. Aside from a few physicists given a sneak peek at a conference in Stockholm, Sweden, the results largely remain shrouded in mystery.PAMELA researchers dropped some clues with an initial announcement, stating that their experiment has seen a surplus of positrons, the antimatter counterpart to the electron.This abundance falls in line with current dark matter theory; the number of positions fo.. Read more »

Highlights from the Blogosphere

This week's excellent bloggy reads:"Barack Obama Answers Science Debate 2008"The IntersectionRequired reading for anyone curious about the candidate's stances on science policy issues."Falling From Heaven"Built on FactsFalling bodies obey Newton's laws, even in Milton's Paradise Lost."Where are you E.T.? The Fermi Paradox Revisited"Cosmic Ray"Babies are Quantized"Uncertain Principles"Everyday Language Helps Students Learn"Sciencegeekgirl.. Read more »

End the Week with a Lawsuit, End the World with the LHC.

Against CERN, that is. According to World Radio Switzerland and The Science of Conundrums, on August 26th, 2008 a group of mostly Swiss, German, and Austrian professors and scientists filed a lawsuit against CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The group argues that the LHC poses a serious threat to the safety of surrounding European Union countries.I'm not going to delve into the whole miasma of controversy surrounding LHC. But, I will (cheer.. Read more »

Bell Labs Ends an Era.

No, it won't immediately cure cancer or result in mega-profit making gadgets.Nonetheless, a twinge of sadness ensnares the recent announcement that Bell Labs is terminating its basic physics research lab.This is a lab that produced six Nobel prizes, along with the invention of the transistor, laser, and countless advances in computer science and technology.Check out WIRED's "Bell Labs Kills Fundamental Physics Research". *Previously defunct link is now working!.. Read more »