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09/01/06

The rise and fall of the pentaquark

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.

09/01/06

Shop-vacs to the rescue

In creating neutrinos for the MINOS experiment at Fermilab, the NuMI focusing horn delivers batches of protons using intense magnetic fields generated by 200,000-ampere pulses of electric current.

09/01/06

Packing it in

Globe-traveling physicists put some of their best thinking into strategies for their bags–all carry-ons, of course.

09/01/06

E=mc($$$)

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.

09/01/06

Robert Straight: Toroids and plaids

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?

09/01/06

Theorist dreams big and wins $4 million

"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.

09/01/06

Antarctica, California

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.

09/01/06

Secret of the hidden ledger

When exploring the mysteries of the universe, don't neglect the floorboards. Last December at Fermilab, repairs to the ceiling over the kitchen in the Aspen East users' center, targeting a joist that had distorted the floor of the dorm room above, produced some startling debris.