A cubic kilometer of clear, stable ice could help physicists answer big questions about cosmic rays and neutrinos. Hardy scientists collect data via a unique telescope at the frozen bottom of the world.
General relativity didn’t happen overnight, but took several steps to come to fruition.
Shutterstock
On the journey to discovery with the ‘gifted mentor’ Takaaki Kajita, one of this year’s Nobel Prize winners, from some one who studied with him.
Neutrinos, we’re looking for you! Japan’s Super-Kamiokande detector.
Kamioka Observatory, ICRR (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research), The University of Tokyo
They’re beyond tiny and super mysterious. Neutrinos are an elemental particle that might just help us understand the structure and evolution of the universe.
Can the arts be a bridge to other worlds?
Daniel Parks
Geomagnetic storms can interact with particles near Earth, causing issues for satellites and other tech. Researchers send balloons 20 miles into the sky to figure out just what’s going on up there.
Using fluorescent dye, researchers figured out how to turn cells into lasers – with applications for cell tagging and tracking as well as medical diagnoses and therapies.
Scientists have shed light on light.
Taras Mykytyuk/Flickr
Suprising discovery of fundamental property of light could lead to applications in optical communications, metrology and quantum information processing.
Some of history’s most brilliant scientists have occupied the Lucasian Chair, including Newton, Dirac and Hawking. Others were not so stellar.
The dispute between Philipp Lenard and Albert Einstein sheds considerable light on the power of nonscientific concerns to sway scientists.
NASA via Wikimedia Commons
Scientists are not always as scientific as many suppose. Recent well-publicized cases of scientific fraud prove that scientists can be as susceptible to the allures of wealth, power and fame as politicians…
Sound waves are made of particles called phonons. New research shows they’re affected by magnetic fields, with researchers able to steer heat magnetically.
A 3D artist has dissected the LHC in this composite image, showing a cut-out section of a superconducting dipole magnet. The beam pipes are represented as clear tubes, with counter-rotating proton beams shown in red and blue.
Daniel Dominguez/CERN
Physicists often work unusual hours. You will find them running experiments at 4am and 10pm. This is because, so long as the pertinent conditions inside a lab – such as temperature or light level – are…