Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 1, 2018

A Major Physics Experiment Just Detected a Particle That Shouldn't Exist

Scientists have produced the firmest evidence yet of so-called sterile neutrinos, mysterious particles that pass through matter without interacting with it at all. The first hints these elusive particles turned up decades ago. But after years of dedicated searches, scientists have been unable to find any other evidence for them,...

Jun 4, 2018

The Higgs Boson Has a New Friend

The Higgs boson appeared again at the world's largest atom smasher — this time, alongside a top quark and an antitop quark, the heaviest known fundamental particles. And this new discovery could help scientists better understand why fundamental particles have the mass they do. When scientists at the Large Hadron...

Jul 12, 2018

Why a 4-Billion-Year-Old Particle That Hit Antarctica Is Such a Big Deal

A single, high-energy neutrino struck Earth on Sept. 22, 2017. It came from a distant galaxy, wrapped around a supermassive black hole. And, beginning with a blockbuster paper published today (July 12) in the journal Science and signed by hundreds of scientists spread across dozens of laboratories, it's leading giddy...

Jul 30, 2018

Large Hadron Collider Just Spat Electron-ified Atoms to Almost the Speed of Light

Scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) achieved yet another first Wednesday (July 25), revving full-blown atoms (with electrons oribiting them) up to near the speed of light. The question of whether these were truly the first atoms that humans have accelerated to these speeds is a bit semantic;...

Aug 28, 2018

First-Ever Observation of Higgs Boson Decay Opens New Doors for Particle Physics

If you’ve been a science fan for the last few years, you’re aware of the exciting results to emerge from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which in 2012 found the Higgs boson, the subatomic particle responsible for giving mass to fundamental subatomic particles. Today, physicists have another exciting announcement to...

Sep 10, 2018

Happy Birthday, LHC: Here's to 10 Years of Atom Smashing at the Large Hadron Collider

Ten years ago, the world's largest scientific instrument was turned on and the start of a research dynasty began. On Sept. 10, 2008, a beam of protons was shot for the first time around the entire 16.5-mile-long (27 kilometers) ring of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — the world's largest...

Sep 18, 2018

This Experiment Will Shoot Ghostly Particles Through Earth, Answer Why We Exist

The study of the subatomic world has revolutionized our understanding of the laws of the universe and given humanity unprecedented insights into deep questions. Historically, these questions have been in the philosophical realm: How did the universe come into existence? Why is the universe the way it is? Why is...

Sep 19, 2018

For Tiny Light Particles, 'Before' and 'After' Mean Nothing

Beneath the surface of the familiar world is a smaller, quantum world that defies our fundamental ideas of time and space. In this mini world, the concepts of before and after dissolve, such that two events can both precede and succeed each other. In other words, event A can occur...

Oct 1, 2018

Atom Smasher Detects Hints of New Unstable Particle

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest atom smasher, just discovered at least two previously unknown particles. The 17-mile (27 kilometers) underground ring near Geneva recently discovered two baryons and a hint of another particle, according to a statement from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which runs...

Oct 4, 2018

Physicist Who Coined 'God Particle' Dies. And a Great Voice for Science Is Stilled.

It is a sad day in science. Dr. Leon Lederman has passed away at the age of 96. Leon was a legend in the world of particle physics. Known perhaps most for coining the phrase “The God Particle,” in his book of the same name, Leon had a distinguished scientific...

Oct 17, 2018

Physicists Model Electrons in Unprecedented Detail — Spoiler Alert: They're Round

Electrons are extremely round, and some physicists are not pleased about it. A new experiment captured the most detailed view of electrons to date, using lasers to reveal evidence of particles surrounding the particles, researchers reported in a new study. By lighting up molecules, the scientists were able to interpret...

Nov 21, 2018

What Do Shrink-Wrapped Thanksgiving Turkeys and the Higgs Boson Have in Common?

(Inside Science) — Each Thanksgiving, millions of Americans tote turkeys home from the store. If you find yourself plopping a fresh, shrink-wrapped bird into your cart, you can thank particle physicists for the sturdy, shelf life-extending packaging. That's because the food industry makes shrink wrap using a tool first developed...

Dec 4, 2018

Humanity's Largest Atom Smasher Takes a Pause, Will Wake Up Again in 2021

Particles: Breathe easy. Scientists at the world's largest particle collider have no plans to smash you together until spring 2021. When you update your computer, you usually have to turn it off and back on again. The same thing is going on right now at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)...

Dec 23, 2018

In 10 Years, the Large Hadron Collider Was a Smash — with More Discoveries to Come

Back in 2008, a beam of protons first zipped around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Now, a decade later, it is time to take stock of what we've learned thanks to this facility and what lies ahead. This accounting includes both future research that...

Jan 2, 2019

What a Tiny Electron Reveals About the Structure of the Universe

What is the shape of an electron? If you recall pictures from your high school science books, the answer seems quite clear: an electron is a small ball of negative charge that is smaller than an atom. This, however, is quite far from the truth. The electron is commonly known...