A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost
Thomas Royen at his home in Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany.
When a German retiree proved a famous long-standing mathematical conjecture, the response was underwhelming.
As he was brushing his teeth on the morning of July 17, 2014, Thomas Royen, a little-known retired German statistician, suddenly lit upon the proof of a famous conjecture at the intersection of geometry, probability theory and statistics that had eluded top experts for decades.
Known as the Gaussian correlation inequality (GCI), the conjecture originated in the 1950s, was posed in its most elegant form in 1972 and has held mathematicians in its thrall ever since.
Click here for the full article: A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost
Why Doesn’t Antimatter Anti-Gravitate?
If there were some type of matter that had negative gravitational charge, it would be repelled by the matter and energy that we are aware of.
Every massive particle exerts a gravitational force. So what do antimatter particles do?
Why aren’t there any particles that fall upwards in the gravitational field of Earth? It would be so handy – If I had to move the couch, rather than waiting for the husband to flex his muscles, I’d tie an anti-gravitating weight to it and the couch would just float to the other side of the room.
Click here or on the picture for the full story: Why Doesn’t Antimatter Anti-Gravitate?
Series of New Posts: Lectures, talks, podcasts, etc…
I will be starting a regular series of posts of lectures, talks, podcasts, etc. If you have requests for topics, please feel free to comment on this post or send me a message via the contact links. The first of these posts is below:
On Oct. 7, 2015, Perimeter Institute Director Neil Turok opened the 2015/16 season of the PI Public Lecture Series with a talk about the remarkably simplicity that underlies nature. Turok discussed how this simplicity at the largest and tiniest scales of the universe is pointing toward new avenues of physics research and could lead to revolutionary advances in technology.
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2017 Career Handbook by Science (AAAS)
Science Careers has teamed up with some great organizations to bring you information about the latest career opportunities in many different fields. The profiles included in this booklet give you a sense of the types of organizations that are accepting resumes and the kinds of positions they offer. We’ve also included some articles with some general tips and advice on job searching.
Source: 2017 Career Handbook
Why a NASA spacecraft could bounce, crunch or sink on icy Europa
Sometime in the early 2030s, NASA hopes to attempt a landing on Jupiter’s moon Europa. A four-legged spacecraft would descend towards the icy surface, ready to hunt for signs of alien life in a buried ocean.
Landing on Jupiter’s moon in search of alien life won’t be easy.
Source: Why a NASA spacecraft could bounce, crunch or sink on icy Europa
Transparent silver: Tarnish-proof films for flexible displays, touch screens
University of Michigan researchers have created a transparent silver film that could be used in touchscreens, flexible displays and other advanced applications. L. Jay Guo, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, holds up a piece of the material. Credit: Joseph Xu/Michigan Engineering.
The thinnest, smoothest layer of silver that can survive air exposure has been laid down at the University of Michigan, and it could change the way touchscreens and flat or flexible displays are made.
Source: Transparent silver: Tarnish-proof films for flexible displays, touch screens
LHCb observes an exceptionally large group of particles
A typical LHCb event fully reconstructed. Particles identified as pions, kaon, etc. are shown in different colours. (Image: LHCb collaboration)
The LHCb experiment at CERN is a hotbed of new and outstanding physics results. In just the last few months, the collaboration has announced the measurement of a very rare particle decay and evidence of a new manifestation of matter-antimatter asymmetry, to name just two examples.
The image above shows the data (black dots) of the reconstructed mass distribution resulting from the combination of the Ξc+ and K- particles. The five particle states are the five narrow peaks standing out from the distribution of data. (Image: LHCb collaboration)
Science journalism can be evidence-based, compelling — and wrong
A ranking of the best science-news outlets misjudges the relationship between research and reporting.
Source: Science journalism can be evidence-based, compelling — and wrong
Gravitational waves pioneer Ronald Drever dies
Scottish physicist Ronald Drever, one of the architects behind the discovery of gravitational waves, has died at the age of 85.
Source: Gravitational waves pioneer Ronald Drever dies – BBC News
The quest to crystallize time
Bizarre forms of matter called time crystals were supposed to be physically impossible. Now they’re not.
Source: The quest to crystallize time
Key experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) gets upgrade
Scientists are upgrading one of the four main experiments on the world’s biggest atom smasher in hopes it will help them discover previously unknown particles or physical properties.
Source: Key experiment at world’s biggest atom smasher gets upgrade
Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies
Vera Rubin, a pioneering astronomer who helped find powerful evidence of dark matter, has died, her son said Monday.
Source: Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies
John Glenn, First American to Orbit the Earth, Dies at 95
The last of NASA’s original seven astronauts to die, Glenn circled the planet three times in 1962
Source: John Glenn, First American to Orbit the Earth, Dies at 95 – Scientific American
NASASunEarth on Twitter: “Coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 25: the 10th anniversary of the launch of STEREO, a key piece of our sun-watching fleet. https://t.co/xMTwA3Bdh6 https://t.co/bLP0fjhLGQ”
Coming up on Tuesday, Oct. 25: the 10th anniversary of the launch of STEREO, a key piece of our sun-watching fleet. https://t.co/xMTwA3Bdh6 pic.twitter.com/bLP0fjhLGQ
— NASASunEarth (@NASASunEarth) October 21, 2016
Joseph L. Birman, Physicist and Humanitarian, Dies at 89 – The New York Times
Dr. Birman was instrumental in the creation of a program that helped refugee scientists restart their careers in the United States in the 1990s.< Source: Joseph L. Birman, Physicist and Humanitarian, Dies at 89 – The New York Times
NewSpace NYC and NY Society of Security Analysts – A New Space Age Race: Interplanetary Investments
Three observations from tonight:
1) EVERYONE wants to be a leader but most are not visionaries.
2) A few are visionaries but lack the leadership, business skills and/or chutzpah to make it happen.
3) Then there are the very few with both vision and chutzpah to make it happen. But, they are not just the Musks or Bezoses, they are the smaller pioneers, some of whom I met tonight, and they are the key for getting to and crossing the tipping point to a vibrant commercial space industry/economy.
Simons Observatory To Search For Origin Of The Cosmos | Simons Foundation
A new facility to be built in Chile aims to uncover what happened in the instant after the Big Bang and answer other cosmological questions.
Source: Simons Observatory To Search For Origin Of The Cosmos | Simons Foundation
USA Science and Engineering Festival – Home
Celebrate STEM at the largest science festival in the country! Join the 4th USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. April 16-17, 2016.
Source: USA Science and Engineering Festival – Home
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