From Atlas Obscura, April 2, 2019: In February 1971, physicists at National Accelerator Laboratory began testing the biggest machine in the world: a ring-shaped, 200-billion-electronvolt proton synchrotron particle accelerator. The stakes were high. They soon ran into a perplexing problem: Magnets that were essential to its operation kept failing. The low-tech solution proposed for this high-tech trouble? A ferret named Felicia.
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Students come into science from a variety of backgrounds, facing a variety of circumstances. The Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, a partnership between Fisk and Vanderbilt universities in Nashville, is meant to take that into account. It helps students overcome external hurdles to reach their potential in Ph.D.-level STEM research. Meet three scientists connected by the program.
Astronomers strive to understand the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Take a short journey through the history of astronomy by viewing some of the field’s most influential works, currently on exhibit in the display case in the Fermilab Art Gallery. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Video games and physics have more in common than you might think. Both require a willingness to approach a problem from multiple different directions. Read three ways to succeed when dealing with both subatomic and virtual realms.
It’s always great when every one of Fermilab’s nine particle accelerators are turned on and provide beam. With the lab again firing on all accelerator-cylinders, we thought it would be a good time to provide a rundown of each of the members of Fermilab’s accelerator complex. Get to know Fermilab’s suite of accelerators and storage rings.
Particle detectors recorded neutrinos from supernova SN1987A hours before telescopes saw the first light. Thirty years later, scientists around the world are eager to detect neutrinos from another one. The international Fermilab-hosted Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will be looking for them. These neutrinos can tell us more about supernovae themselves and may hint at new physics that could upend the Standard Model of particle physics.
Respondents to Symmetry’s survey about what it’s like to earn a Ph.D. in particle physics or astrophysics offer their views of the experience. Nearly 2,000 people worldwide complete the scientific rite of passage each year. Yet for many people, the process remains mysterious.
The more than 300 responses to Symmetry’s survey described a challenging, multifaceted experience that goes far beyond job training, and even beyond the scientific goal of studying the fundamental nature of the universe.
From WDCB’s First Light, March 24, 2019: Brian O’Keefe interviews Fermilab PIP-II Project Director Lia Merminga about PIP-II, an accelerator project critical to the lab’s future. Fermilab broke ground on PIP-II on March 15. Learn about how PIP-II will power the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab, and the lab’s experimental program in this 15-minute piece.
Muon g-2 has begun its second run to search for hidden particles and forces. Muon g-2 collaborators have performed upgrades to improve the experiment’s precision and increase the amount of data it generates. As the experiment starts up again, scientists expect to make the world’s most precise measurement of the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment, which could tell us whether additional, undiscovered particles exist in the universe.
From Gizmodo, March 20, 2019: The Proton Improvement Plan II, formally approved by the Department of Energy last summer, includes plans for the highest-energy linear particle accelerator to accelerate a continuous stream of protons — a central component to the American particle physics laboratory. Fermilab PIP-II Project Director Lia Merminga is quoted in this article.