For decades, researchers assumed the cosmic rays that regularly bombard Earth from the far reaches of the galaxy are born when stars go supernova—when they grow too massive to support the fusion occurring at their cores ...
Astronomy
Mar 11, 2021
2
1073
On December 6, 2016, a high-energy particle called an electron antineutrino hurtled to Earth from outer space at close to the speed of light carrying 6.3 petaelectronvolts (PeV) of energy. Deep inside the ice sheet at the ...
General Physics
Mar 10, 2021
11
861
For only the second time, astronomers have linked an elusive particle called a high-energy neutrino to an object outside our galaxy. Using ground- and space-based facilities, including NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, ...
Astronomy
Feb 22, 2021
1
86
In a paper published today in the journal Science, the CLOUD collaboration at CERN shows that aerosol particles made of iodic acid can form extremely rapidly in the marine boundary layer—the portion of the atmosphere that ...
Materials Science
Feb 8, 2021
0
144
The COHERENT particle physics experiment at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has firmly established the existence of a new kind of neutrino interaction. Because neutrinos are electrically neutral and ...
General Physics
Jan 26, 2021
4
150
A remarkable prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity—the theory that connects space, time, and gravity—is that rotating black holes have enormous amounts of energy available to be tapped.
General Physics
Jan 13, 2021
5
3010
Sometimes in astronomy, the acronym for a project fits it particularly well. That would absolutely be the case for the Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection, which researchers hope to scale up to a size of 200,000 km2 ...
General Physics
Dec 23, 2020
8
638
Matter is what makes up the universe, but what makes up matter? This question has long been tricky for those who think about it—especially for the physicists. Reflecting recent trends in physics, my colleague Jeffrey Eischen ...
General Physics
Dec 10, 2020
37
651
Of course, there is no weather in our sense of the word in space—nevertheless, soil can also "weather" in the vacuum of space if it is constantly bombarded by high-energy particles, such as those emitted by the sun. The ...
Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2020
1
47
Unlocking the zig-zagging dance of hot, charged plasma particles that fuel fusion reactions can help to harness on Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars. At the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 12, 2020
1
31
