Topics: African Americans, Black History Month, Diversity in Science, Particle Physics, STEM, Theoretical Physics, Women in Science Renowned physicist and university president Shirley Ann Jackson was born on August 5, 1946, in Washington, D.C., to George Hiter Jackson and Beatrice Cosby Jackson. When Jackson was a child, her mother read her the biography of BenjaminContinue reading “Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson…”
Category Archives: Particle Physics
Ripples in Spacetime…
Topics: Astrophysics, High Energy Physics, Particle Physics Each week Quanta Magazine explains one of the most important ideas driving modern research. This week, physics staff writer Charlie Wood explains why many researchers are looking to outer space for signs of “new physics.” Fundamental physics has a problem. Some researchers say the field faces a “nightmareContinue reading “Ripples in Spacetime…”
Nanos Gigantum Humeris Insidentes…
Colleagues remember Peter Higgs as an inspirational scientist, who remained humble despite his fame. Credit: Graham Clark/Alamy Topics: CERN, Higgs Boson, High Energy Physics, Nobel Prize, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Theoretical Physics Few scientists have enjoyed as much fame in recent years as British theoretical physicist Peter Higgs, the namesake of the boson that was discoveredContinue reading “Nanos Gigantum Humeris Insidentes…”
In Medias Res…
Image source: Link below Topics: Applied Physics, Astrophysics, Computer Modeling, Einstein, High Energy Physics, Particle Physics, Theoretical Physics In the search for new physics, a new kind of scientist is bridging the gap between theory and experiment. Traditionally, many physicists have divided themselves into two tussling camps: the theorists and the experimentalists. Albert Einstein theorizedContinue reading “In Medias Res…”
Pines’ Demon…
Lurking for decades: researchers have discovered Pines’ demon, a collection of electrons in a metal that behaves like a massless wave. It is illustrated here as an artist’s impression. (Courtesy: The Grainger College of Engineering/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) Topics: Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Research, Solid-State Physics, Theoretical Physics For nearly seven decades, a plasmon knownContinue reading “Pines’ Demon…”
Challenging the Standard Model…
Excited helium nuclei inflate like balloons, offering physicists a chance to study the strong nuclear force which binds the nucleus’s protons and neutrons. Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine Topics: Modern Physics, Nobel Prize, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Steven Weinberg, Theoretical Physics A new measurement of the strong nuclear force, which binds protons and neutrons together, confirms previousContinue reading “Challenging the Standard Model…”
ALPS and Dark Matter…
Magnet row of the ALPS experiment in the HERA tunnel: In this part of the magnets, intense laser light is reflected back and forth, from which axions are supposed to form. Credit: DESY, Marta Maye Topics: Dark Matter, Materials Science, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics The ALPS (Any Light Particle Search) experiment, which stretches a totalContinue reading “ALPS and Dark Matter…”
Removing the Spookiness…
Conceptual artwork of a pair of entangled quantum particles. Credit: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo Topics: Modern Physics, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Theoretical Physics Quantum entanglement is a complex phenomenon in physics that is usually poorly described as an invisible link between distant quantum objects that allows one to instantly affect the other. Albert Einstein famously dismissedContinue reading “Removing the Spookiness…”
Spooky Action Between Friends…
Credit: Petrovich9/Getty Images Topics: Entanglement, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Research, Theoretical Physics Reference: Albert Einstein colorfully dismissed quantum entanglement—the ability of separated objects to share a condition or state—as “spooky action at a distance.” Science.org For the first time, scientists have observed quantum interference—a wavelike interaction between particles related to the weird quantum phenomenon of entanglement—occurring betweenContinue reading “Spooky Action Between Friends…”
Rule Breakers…
Credit: Matt Harrison Clough (original image at link) Topics: Entanglement, High Energy Physics, Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics Breaking the rules is exciting, especially if they have been held for a long time. This is true not just in life but also in particle physics. Here the rule I’m thinking of is called “lepton flavor universality,”Continue reading “Rule Breakers…”
