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The new technology is a miniaturized version of a sensor developed for the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. But instead of being used for discovery science, the sensors are developed to screen cargo by detecting muons, particles that penetrate materials such as concrete and lead. Scientists at Fermilab, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Nevada National Security Site designed, assembled and tested the small, slim sensors, which could replace bulkier screening technologies.

‘Tis the season for friends, family and funny physics fill-ins. Here at Symmetry, we’ve taken a page from Mad Libs, those short stories designed to trick you into learning parts of speech, and created some science-themed Lab Libs (to trick you into learning science). Simply fill in the blanks to create original science stories.

Agencies in the United States and France have signed statements expressing interest to work together on the development and production of technical components for PIP-II, a major particle accelerator project with substantial international contributions. In addition, the French agencies also plan to collaborate on DUNE, an international flagship science project that will unlock the mysteries of neutrinos.

The upcoming Short-Baseline Near Detector at Fermilab continues scientists’ search for evidence of a hypothetical particle, the sterile neutrino. Collaborators around the world are participating in the detector’s construction. Its first critical components recently arrived from partner institutions. When complete, SBND will be the third and final detector in Fermilab’s Short-Baseline Neutrino Program.

Symmetry writer Mike Perricone presents his annual compilation of new popular science books related to particle physics and astrophysics. The array that Symmetry readers might have encountered in 2018 ranges from the philosophical to the whimsical.

A proton describes its final moments in the Large Hadron Collider. During its second run, between 2015 and 2018, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN collided about 16 million billion particle pairs. This 3-minute animation is the story of one of them.

The agreement launches a multinational collaboration to build a powerful new accelerator at DOE’s Fermilab complex. Italy and its National Institute of Nuclear Physics will provide major contributions to the construction of the 176-meter-long superconducting particle accelerator that is the centerpiece of the PIP-II project.

During the last four years, LHC scientists have filled in gaps in our knowledge and tested the boundaries of the Standard Model. Since the start of Run II in March 2015, they’ve recorded an incredible amount of data —five times more than the LHC produced in Run I. The accelerator produced approximately 16 million billion proton-proton collisions — about one collision for every ant currently living on Earth.

Researchers demonstrate the cryogen-free operation of a superconducting radio-frequency cavity that might ease barriers to its use in societal applications.

1970s video footage recorded by musician Micky Dolenz when he visited the then-nascent Fermilab is now available on YouTube.