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Illustration of a giant toddler on a trike.

The freckled universe

05/06/25

Madeleine O’Keefe

There’s a new class of cosmic object in town. And it might just overturn our understanding of black holes and galaxy evolution.

Illustration of a jet breaking the sound barrier

08/01/09

Cherenkov light

Cherenkov light is the optical equivalent of a sonic boom.

07/23/09

Antimatter from bananas

The average banana produces a particle of antimatter roughly once every 75 minutes.

07/01/09

In 1991, James Cronin travelled to Leeds, England, to visit Alan Watson, an expert on cosmic-ray physics. Cronin, a Nobel Prize winner in physics who had worked on accelerator-based particle physics experiments, wanted to discuss ideas for cosmic-ray projects.

07/01/09

Nope, no UFOs at Brookhaven Lab

The spotlight caught Todd Satogata. The camera zoomed in. “Did your particle beam shoot down a UFO?” the TV host asked. The accelerator physicist at RHIC, Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, smiled. Of course not.

07/01/09

Periodic table

Look at the periodic table of elements, and youd be hard pressed to find an element that is not used in physics. But what are the most important elements for building accelerators, detecting particles, and solving the mysteries of the universe?

07/01/09

Detectors shipped in cooking pots

Looking for an inexpensive and safe way to transport delicate particle detectors? Try pressure cookers and child safety seats.

07/01/09

The DUSEL cavern is getting restless

You can't feel it. Yet the moon's gravitational pull shifts the ground ever so slightly, creating “earth tides” that rhythmically raise and lower the ground.

07/01/09

It's cute! It's clean! It's a SLACmobile!

Plugged into a weatherproof outlet behind SLAC's Test Laboratory, what looks like an oversized green-and-silver go-cart waits with its load of tools and paint supplies.

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