Neutrinos, antimatter, and science as a holistic detective agency

Posted on 23/01/2016 by Jon Butterworth

‘Holistic’ is a much abused word. Like ‘quantum’ and ‘paradigm’, it is beloved of snake-oil sellers of many types. But some kind of interconnectedness forms a key part of science’s defence against spurious results and crackpots. Two new scientific results got me thinking this week

Reading Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently

Reading Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently Photograph: Book design & cover: C. Zeff, L. Jeans. Photo: E. Butterworth

Read more at the Guardian.

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The ultra-violent origins of gold

Posted on 16/01/2016 by Jon Butterworth

It seems supernovas aren’t enough. Nature has an even more extreme way of making heavy elements. And we may be on the point of observing the distortions of space-time caused in the process

Read more at the Guardian. And, just because it looks great, here is a stunning timelapse from ESA of a somewhat mysterious stellar eruption.

 

 

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Finding, or not, a new particle could change the world. Here’s one way how

Posted on 31/12/2015 by Jon Butterworth

At the Guardian.

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Update from the energy frontier: A preview of the annual report from CERN

Posted on 14/12/2015 by Jon Butterworth

At the Guardian.

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