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Illustration of a W boson among a pattern of masks

Explain it in 60 seconds: W boson

09/10/24

Josh Bendavid and Sarah Charley

Meet the short-lived particle that helps the sun shine.

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.

12/01/08

I'll take particle accelerators for $200, Alex

Knowing accelerator trivia may someday earn you cash and a shot at fame. During the past few months, the TV quiz show Jeopardy!

12/01/08

Fermilab grasses may thwart damaging greenhouse gases

Michael Miller watches grass grow for a living—super grass, of sorts, grass that could fuel a car and reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the same time.

12/01/08

Pierre Auger tests solar technology

As the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina collects cosmic rays for science, its thousands of solar panels are collecting data that could make solar power cheaper, more efficient, and more reliable.

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