LHC circulated the first beams of 2009 as the first major step in the restart process. Physicists meeting in Evian revealed that through a quirk of statistics and luck, the Tevatron's new limits on finding the Higgs just got a little weaker. Other physicists joined in a jamboree. Quarks' motions within protons and neutrons depend on what other protons and neutrons are nearby. Talk of future muon colliders ramped up.
DJ Spooky released his compositions from Antarctica, which "reflect the geometric precision of ice." Expertlabs.org launched as a way "to help policy-makers in our government take advantage of the expertise of their fellow citizens." The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's attempts to attract engineers by getting them dates has led to "eight or nine weddings."
Representatives of US academic research bodies joined forces to track stimulus spending on research. Japanese science research bracing for a possible major funding blow.
The Sun might not be a "Goldilocks" star after all. Punching holes in a thin sheet of gold can actually prevent light from passing through. Invisibility is not all it looks like. The first programmable quantum processor was created using two beryllium ions.
Watch closely this weekend for LHC start-up activities and possible surprises!
Note: This is the first of a regular series capturing some of the physics highlights of the past week.
