In the early 1950s, Nobel-Laureates-to-be Norman Ramsey and Ed Purcell created cards of physical constants they found themselves using most frequently.
Although initial results were encouraging, physicists searching for an exotic five-quark particle now think it probably doesn't exist. The debate over the pentaquark search shows how science moves forward.
With his genius and his unmistakable appearance, Albert Einstein is an icon of both science and culture. Since his passing Einstein has inspired films, books, and even an opera, Einstein on the Beach. Not surprisingly, his popularity pays off handsomely.
"Since middle school, I've always had plans to get rich," says Michael Binger, a theoretical particle physicist at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. On August 11, 2006 his dream came true: Binger placed third at the World Series of Poker Championships in Las Vegas.
Pick a number: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113 and so on and on and on and on . Get the picture?
When researchers at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center realized their distance from Antarctica was a scientific inconvenience, they set about crafting an icy world of their own in Menlo Park, California.
