If gossip on various physics blogs pans out, the biggest moment for physics in nearly two decades is just days away. The possible announcement on July 4 of the long-sought Higgs boson would put the last critical piece of the Standard Model of Physics in place, a crowning achievement built on a half-century of work by thousands of scientists. A moment worthy of fireworks.
The rumored upcoming announcement of the discovery of the Higgs boson on July 4 would put in place the last major thread of the Standard Model of physics. This might sound like the case is closed on how the universe works, but though the Standard Model answers many questions and has been very effective at predicting the existence of particles that were subsequently discovered, it also spawns a whole new set of questions that could prove … Read More → "Supersymmetry: the future of physics explained"
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”
A storm this weekend knocked out power to millions of buildings in the mid-Atlantic region. About 443,000 lost electricity in the Washington, DC area, and over 200,000 outages occurred in southern New Jersey. The utilities that serve those two markets, Pepco and Atlantic City Electric—say it might take until midnight on Friday, July 6, before everyone gets back online. July 6th? Are you kidding? Why does it take so long?
via Gizmodo
Continue … Read More → "Why it takes so long to fix a power outage"
The world’s thinnest transparent screen isn’t really a screen at all, but something more like a soap bubble. An international team of researchers claims its display–which uses ultrasonic sound waves to change the properties of a soap-like film to display both flat and 3-D images–is the world’s thinnest transparent screen, and that using several of them together can even produce a holographic projection.
via Popular Science
< … Read More → "The world’s thinnest transparent display is a soap bubble"
Zplasma, a startup spun out of the University of Washington, hopes that its ability to harness super hot, stable plasma to make light will help the semiconductor industry continue its march to cram more transistors on a chip. Zplasma’s breakthrough is the shorter wavelength of light it can generate using plasma. At shorter wavelengths, the light generated by one of the machines used in making a chip can penetrate deeper into the chemicals deposited onto a wafer and etch finer lines on semiconductors — the finer the lines, the more transistors are … Read More → "Startup hopes plasma will save Moore’s Law"
Scientific advising for science-fiction films is a really fascinating topic for me. It’s a weird, weird world, where the goal is not necessarily extreme accuracy, but extreme believability. That can be a stress point for science, a field that is, generally, all about striving for accuracy. The scientists that help directors create believable worlds have to balance the goal of educating the public with the goal of entertaining same. That can be tough, and it leads some creative solutions—and little educational Easter Eggs buried in the background of blockbusters.
via Read More → "How physicist Jim Kakalios invented a math equation for the new Spider-Man movie"
Comedic everyman Louis C.K. is a bigger star than ever — the new season of his acclaimed FX show Louie debuts today — but a ticket to his upcoming tour won’t set you back quite as far as you might expect. Why? Like an increasing number of artists and entertainers, C.K. is eliminating the middle man and using the Internet to deal directly with fans.
In this case, that middle man is Ticketmaster. Tickets for C.K.’s fall tour, which spans 52 shows in 25 cities, are being … Read More → "How Louis C.K. is changing the way we pay for entertainment"
Rising wages in China may be squeezing the profits of many manufacturers — but they are also feeding a boom in the robotics industry.
Wages in China’s cities rose 12.4% last year, while in rural areas they were boosted by 21.9%, accordingto figures from China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
While that may be good for workers, manufacturers are softening the blow to their balance sheets by turning to robotics — which are cheaper, faster and deliver high quality. China is the fastest growing market in robotics, and by 2014 it will top the global … Read More → "China’s rising wages feed robotics boom"
Researchers have invented a mind-reading system that, for the first time in history, allows any person to type words and phrases letter by letter, just by thinking. It all occurs in real time, without moving a single muscle or uttering a single word.
This is an amazing invention. Not only it will help anyone with serious motor disabilities, but it could potentially affect all of us in an amazing way.
via Gizmodo
Read More → "Scientists invent mind-reading system that lets you type with your brain"
