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Conceptual illustration of a pie with a lattice crust

Explain it in 60 Seconds: Lattice QCD

07/25/24

Sarah Charley

Lattice gauge theory, or lattice QCD, is a calculation method that helps scientists make predictions about the behavior of quarks at low energies.

03/01/09

Probing the heart of the atom

The familiar elements of the Periodic Table come in a number of forms, or isotopessome found only fleetingly in the most violent events, such as exploding stars.

03/01/09

Chuckling their way to a safer lab

There are many ways to deliver a clever play on words: deliberately with a nudge, coyly with a wink, or tossed nonchalantly into a conversation to trigger a delayed laugh—or a groan.

03/01/09

Cosmic weather gauges

Particle physics joins forces with other fields to look at two important factors shaping weather: temperatures high in the atmosphere and the dampness of the dirt beneath our feet.

03/01/09

A physicist's life: write a little code, mush a few Huskies

First the noses start twitching; then all five sets of ears perk up. Jen Adelman-McCarthy knows something tantalizing lies ahead.

03/01/09

Jorge Cham: Piled higher and deeper

Jorge Cham's popular comic strip about the lives of hapless grad students takes him to the Large Hadron Collider—and launches a series of comics that explains the science with remarkable clarity.

03/01/09

Electronic personalities

Some claim that handwriting can reveal personality traits. Large, free-flowing loops reflect an easy-going nature; squiggly strokes, creativity.

03/01/09

The contraption is just a dirt-dampness detector. Honest.

Marek Zreda and Darin Desilets of the University of Arizona approached airport security with a suitcase full of tubing, cables, electronic devices, and wires. The guard opened it. Lights started blinking.

12/01/08

Superconducting magnets

Today's MRI machines and particle accelerators wouldn’t exist without superconducting electromagnets, which generate powerful magnetic fields at a fraction of the energy cost of conventional electromagnets.

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