In 1905, Albert Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity and overthrew the notions of absolute space and time. His later General Theory of Relativity was so revolutionary that even he had trouble accepting its full implications.
This mural in the Soudan Underground Laboratory, located in Minnesota half a mile underground, was designed by artist Joseph Giannetti. Its theme is matter and energy, and--more specifically--neutrino physics.
Speaking experimentally, the past decade has been the "Decade of the Neutrino." It produced neutrino experiments across three continents, going from the lab, to the nuclear reactor, to the atmosphere, to the sun, and back to the nuclear reactor.
Waves describe some of the most extraordinary phenomena in the world. Waves can be simple—the sound of a flute playing a sustained, single note—or they can be complicated mixtures—a musical chord, for example, which is a combination of many sound waves.
As spring arrived, so did the kids. Their knees wobbly and eyes wide open, they stayed close to their moms. Dad, weighing more than 2500 pounds, made sure that no harm came the babies' way.
On the night of April 27, 2002, the Apache Point 3.5 m telescope in New Mexico captured the light signature of SDSS 1148+5251, the most distant quasar known. A quasar is a compact, ultraluminous object thought to be powered by material falling into a giant black hole.
Every winter, pine trees on the KEK campus in Tsukuba, Japan, get a treat. Komomaki (woven-straw blankets) are wrapped around the pines a few feet above the ground.