The Howard Hughes Medical Institute publishes a very nice in-house magazine called the HHMI Bulletin, with wonderful stories, illustrations, and photographs. In a fun Q&A piece, the Bulletin asked four HHMI researchers "What 'For Dummies' book are you most qualified to write?" One of the answers fits right in with what we think about at symmetry and the Bulletin gave us permission to republish it here.
Photo courtesy of John Eisele, CSU Photography
“I would write a Synchrotron Survival Guide for Dummies for researchers tediously collecting data from these large particle accelerators. Practical tips would include: bring a toothbrush to combat the 3 a.m. fuzzy mouth feeling and warm sweaters for the midnight draft. Chocolate-covered coffee beans are a must. Another section would describe how to interact with synchrotron staff—make sure you have their cell phone numbers, and bring appeasement gifts if you have to call them at 2 a.m. (Swiss chocolate works best). Finally, bring your invisibility cloak in case you trip the entire beam and you need to escape the wrath of disgruntled researchers. If you don’t have one, bring more chocolate.”
Karolin Luger
HHMI Investigator
Colorado State University