Kepler-22b

Images credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

This image is an artist's conception of planet Kepler-22b, a planet known to comfortably circle in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. It is the first planet that NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed to orbit in a star's habitable zone -- the region around a star where liquid water, a requirement for life on Earth, could persist. The planet is 2.4 times the size of Earth, making it the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star like our sun. See: Kepler-22b, Super-Earth in the habitable zone of a Sun-like Star

Bolshoi Simulation: WMAP Explorer

Bolshoi Simulation Visualization from UC-HPACC on Vimeo. Watch With Music.

  Visualization of the dark matter in 1/1000 of the gigantic Bolshoi cosmological simulation, zooming in on a region centered on the dark matter halo of a very large cluster of galaxies.  Visualized by Chris Henze, NASA Ames Research Center. This visualization was narrated in the National Geographic TV special "Inside the Milky Way".  It was used with the piece "Dark Matter" in Bjork's Biophilia concert. 

 The Bolshoi simulation is the most accurate cosmological simulation of the evolution of the large-scale structure of the universe yet made (“bolshoi” is the Russian word for “great” or “grand”).  The first two of a series of research papers describing Bolshoi and its implications have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. The first data release of Bolshoi outputs, including output from Bolshoi and also the BigBolshoi or MultiDark simulation of a volume 64 times bigger than Bolshoi, has just been made publicly available to the world’s astronomers and astrophysicists. See: Introduction: The Bolshoi Simulation

See Also:

• Bolshoi simulations and their implications
•  NASA Supercomputer Enables Largest Cosmological Simulations

Gordon Kane Post on Reference Frame

Fig.3 Revisionist History and String Theory and the Real World

See: "Learning from theory and data about our string vacuum"

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Also for viewing:

NAS Produces Animations of Dark Matter for Planetarium Shows

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The newly-installed Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS)

 Description


Excerpt from "Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer - A Physics Experiment on the International Space Station" by Dr. Sam Ting: The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector constructed, tested and operated by an international team composed of 60 institutes from 16 countries and organized under United States Department of Energy (DOE) sponsorship. The AMS-02 will use the unique environment of space to advance knowledge of the universe and lead to the understanding of the universe's origin by searching for antimatter, dark matter and measuring cosmic rays.

Experimental evidence indicates that our Galaxy is made of matter; however, there are more than 100 hundred million galaxies in the universe and the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe requires equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Theories that explain this apparent asymmetry violate other measurements. Whether or not there is significant antimatter is one of the fundamental questions of the origin and nature of the universe. Any observations of an antihelium nucleus would provide evidence for the existence of antimatter. In 1999, AMS-01 established a new upper limit of 10^-6 for the antihelium/helium flux ratio in the universe. AMS-02 will search with a sensitivity of 10^-9, an improvement of three orders of magnitude, sufficient to reach the edge of the expanding universe and resolve the issue definitively.

The visible matter in the universe (stars) adds up to less than 5 percent of the total mass that is known to exist from many other observations. The other 95 percent is dark, either dark matter (which is estimated at 20 percent of the universe by weight or dark energy, which makes up the balance). The exact nature of both still is unknown. One of the leading candidates for dark matter is the neutralino. If neutralinos exist, they should be colliding with each other and giving off an excess of charged particles that can be detected by AMS-02. Any peaks in the background positron, anti-proton, or gamma flux could signal the presence of neutralinos or other dark matter candidates.

Six types of quark (u, d, s, c, b and t) have been found experimentally, however all matter on Earth is made up of only two types of quarks (u and d). It is a fundamental question whether there is matter made up of three quarks (u, d and s). This matter is known as Strangelets. Strangelets can have extremely large mass and very small charge-to-mass ratios. It would be a totally new form of matter. AMS will provide a definitive answer on the existence of this extraordinary matter. The above three examples indicates that AMS will probe the foundations of modern physics.

Cosmic radiation is a significant obstacle to a manned space flight to Mars. Accurate measurements of the cosmic ray environment are needed to plan appropriate countermeasures. Most cosmic ray studies are done by balloon-borne satellites with flight times that are measured in days; these studies have shown significant variations. AMS-02 will be operative on the ISS for a nominal mission of 3 years, gathering an immense amount of accurate data and allowing measurements of the long term variation of the cosmic ray flux over a wide energy range, for nuclei from protons to iron. After the nominal mission, AMS-02 can continue to provide cosmic ray measurements. In addition to the understanding the radiation protection required for manned interplanetary flight, this data will allow the interstellar propagation and origins of cosmic rays to be pinned down. See: The newly-installed Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS)

Apex Experiment

APEX is one of several experiments hunting for the carrier of a new force, a hypothetical boson dubbed A’. This graph shows the range of the parameter space covered by these proposed experiments. The solid red is the slice of parameter space covered by APEX’s test run. The full APEX experiment will search the entire area above the red curve. See: PI Science: Hunting for New Forces

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We present a search at Jefferson Laboratory for new forces mediated by sub-GeV vector bosons with weak coupling $\alpha'$ to electrons. Such a particle $A'$ can be produced in electron-nucleus fixed-target scattering and then decay to an $e^+e^-$ pair, producing a narrow resonance in the QED trident spectrum. Using APEX test run data, we searched in the mass range 175--250 MeV, found no evidence for an $A'\to e^+e^-$ reaction, and set an upper limit of $\alpha'/\alpha \simeq 10^{-6}$. Our findings demonstrate that fixed-target searches can explore a new, wide, and important range of masses and couplings for sub-GeV forces. See: Search for a new gauge boson in the $A'$ Experiment (APEX)

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Rouven Essig, Search for a New Vector Boson Decaying to e+e- (talk to Hall A Collaboration on APEX Motivation ).

Magic Cerenkov Telescope

MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes) is a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes situated at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, at about 2200 m above sea level. MAGIC detects particle showers released by gamma rays, using the Cherenkov radiation, i.e., faint light radiated by the charged particles in the showers. With a diameter of 17 meters for the reflecting surface, it is the largest in the world.

The first telescope was built on 2004 and operated for five years in standalone mode. A second MAGIC telescope (MAGIC-II), at a distance of 85 m from the first one, started taking data in July 2009. Together they integrate the MAGIC telescope stereoscopic system.^[1]

MAGIC is sensitive to cosmic gamma rays with energies between 50 GeV and 30 TeV due to its large mirror; other ground-based gamma-ray telescopes typically observe gamma energies above 200-300 GeV. Satellite-based detectors detect gamma-rays in the energy range from keV up to several GeV.

See Also: The Magic Telescopes

Bird Man?

Amazing flying for Jetman.

Yves Rossy: That's really the goal, because if you put [in] steering, then you reinvent the airplane. And I wanted to keep this freedom of movement. And it's really like the kid playing the airplane. I want to go down like that. And up I climb, I turn. It's really pure flying. It's not steering, it's flight.

A Synesthetes Talk in the Afterlife :)

Looking up a list of who's who in the Synesthetes world I found it quite interesting. This YouTube Video below was attributed too Maureen Seaberg

 When Mayer was seventeen, he was stricken with cardiac dysrhythmia and was hospitalized for a weekend. Reflecting on the incident, Mayer said, “That was the moment the songwriter in me was born,” and he penned his first lyrics the night he got home from the hospital. See: John Mayer (October 16, 1977), musician, sound to color

John Mayer's song about gravity was quite appealing for obvious reasons? Maybe some will understand why but in science it cannot be so.

 See: Synesthesia Resource Center

Intensity Frontier Workshop and Space Exploration

This workshop is an opportunity for the scientific community to identify the physics potential of the Intensity Frontier. Starting in September 2011, six working groups will study and begin to document the full spectrum of opportunities for fundamental physics at the Intensity Frontier and identify the necessary facilities to execute such a program. 

The workshop is open to the broader particle and nuclear physics community and the working groups will expect and solicit input from the community. This exercise will continue during October and November 2011, with smaller topical workshops and meetings organized by the working groups. The workshop from Nov 30 to Dec 2, 2011 will be another opportunity for community input and the workshop will conclude with the preliminary findings of the working groups. The final report detailing the workshop results will be completed by the end of January 2012.Fundamental Physics at the Intensity Frontier

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Exploring the Wonders of the Universe

The newly-installed Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 is visible at center of the International Space Station's starboard truss. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, is the largest scientific collaboration to use the orbital laboratory. This investigation is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and made possible by funding from 16 nations. Led by Nobel Laureate Samuel Ting, more than 600 physicists from around the globe will be able to participate in the data generated from this particle physics detector. The mission of the AMS is, in part, to seek answers to the mysteries of antimatter, dark matter and cosmic ray propagation in the universe. Image Credit: NASA

See Also:

• An Intensity Frontier Post 
•  The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Experiment

Superconductivity Dance Flash Mob

What can I say people in science seem to like to dance a lot to explain things?:)

Ranging from slime molds to Alzheimer’s Disease, a new online exhibit, Emergent Universe (http://www.emergentuniverse.org) aims to encourage young people to learn about “emergence,” complex behaviors that arise from the interaction of simple parts. See: Emergent Universe - an online museum of science.

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Flash Mobs & Floating Trains

Created for the online science museum emergentuniverse.org, this dance flash mob illustrates the behavior of electrons in a superconductor. Superconductors are materials which, at very low temperatures, can conduct electric currents without any resistance. That means that the current can flow forever with no energy loss.

The exhibit on superconductivity at emergentuniverse.org will go live this summer, 2011, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the phenomenon of superconductivity. Emergentuniverse.org is sponsored by the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter (icam-i2cam.org).

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At  emergentuniverse.org "Unlocking the Universe" together with "Hear the Music," it was appealing to me back then as it is now. 

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The weird quantum nature of the atomic world challenges us to revise the way we view the world around us. We learn that our everyday world - built out of the myriad superposition of matter waves, has an unexpected capacity for new kinds of behavior and "self organization" that we are only just beginning to fathom. Music of the Quantum World

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See Also: 

• Bee Movie and Science Today

Update:

• Music of the Quantum

PlatoHagel's Channel

Just some of the YouTubes I have watched.

Would have liked Blogger to design a Youtube index feature according to the blogger YouTubes we have highlighted in our own blogs. Also each time one comes to this blog or others, a different Youtube will will be presented for viewing from our favorites?