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Science

Submission + - Higgs, Schmiggs - the LHC may have Found Physics Beyond the Standard Model (physicscentral.com) 3

Submitted by
BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: "Fermilab physicists claim to have discovered evidence of new physics in the same LHC data that revealed the existence of a Higgs-like boson. While the Higgs potentially fills in the final piece of the Standard Model puzzle that describes the known fundamental particles, PhysicsBuzz is reporting that papers soon to be posted to the arXiv preprint server argue that the LHC data also show that the Top Quark has a partner predicted by the powerful, but previously unproven, theory of Supersymmetry. If true, the theory may solve the mystery of dark matter, explain why gravity is so weak, and presage the discovery of a whole host of supersymmetric particles."
ISS

Submission + - Astronaut Didgeridoo (or maybe Didgeridon't) (physicscentral.com)

Submitted by
BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: "Astronauts Don Pettit and Dan Burbank aboard the International Space Station took some time out to cobble together a didgeridoo from the ISS vacuum cleaner hoses. Skip to 1:30 to see Pettit mangle an official ISS crew shirt to look more like an authentic didgeridoo player (or at least what he thinks one should look like)."

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Best mobile phone solution without data plan 2

Submitted by clorkster
clorkster writes: I am looking to upgrade my mobile phone. I have always bought the cheapest possible phone with the least features since I only use it to make calls and text. Further, I am opposed to paying for internet access twice and my home access is certainly more important and necessary. I am now running into the issue that my phone is too archaic to receive text messages from newer smart phones (they somehow become picture messages). Any thoughts on a good smart phone without data plan or an almost smart phone solution?
ISS

Submission + - Microgravity Coffee Cup (physicscentral.com)

Submitted by
BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: "Despite the fact that astronauts have been eating and drinking out of tubes for decades, it's actually possible to drink from an open-top cup in space. Astronaut Don Pettit recently downlinked a video that shows him slurping coffee from a cup he kludged out of plastic sheet. It appears to work pretty much like a cup on Earth, even in freefall aboard the International Space Station, thanks to capillary action."
Science

Submission + - Climate Change-Induced Drought Caused the Mayan Collapse (vice.com)

Submitted by
pigrabbitbear
pigrabbitbear writes: "The collapse of the Mayan empire has already caused plenty of consternation for scientists and average Joes alike, and we haven’t even made it a quarter of the way through 2012 yet. But here’s something to add a little more fuel to the fire: A new study suggests that climate change killed off the Mayans."
Spam

Submission + - Nigerian Scam Artists Taken for $33,000 (couriermail.com.au)

Submitted by smitty777
smitty777 writes: An Australian woman who was being used by a group of Nigerian scam artists stole over $33,000 from the group who employed her. Her bank account was being used to funnel the cash from a dodgy internet car sales website. Irony aside, it makes one wonder how these folks ever got the nerve to go to the police with this matter. Those of you wondering, this article offers some answers to the question of why so many of these scams originate from this area.

Comment Re:explanation incorrect? (diploe + 1/r vs 1/r^2) (Score 1) 159

by BuzzSkyline (#38972859) Attached to: Water Droplets In Orbit On the International Space Station
I believe you're thinking specifically of closed orbits (if my hazy recollection of Newtonian dynamics is correct). Any attractive potential can lead to orbits, but most types of potentials produce orbits that do not necessarily close on themselves. Orbits in the gravitational potential around spheres and points lead to elliptical orbits that close on themselves (instead of precessing around like a spirograph sketch).
ISS

Submission + - Water droplets in orbit on the International Space Station (physicscentral.com)

Submitted by
BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: "Astronaut Don Pettit, who is aboard the International Space Station (ISS) right now, put charged water droplets into wild orbits around a knitting needle in the microgravity environment of the ISS. A video he made of the droplets is the first in a serious of freefall physics experiments that he will be posting in coming months."
Science

Submission + - Fine structure constant may not be so constant (physicscentral.com)

Submitted by
BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: "Physics Buzz is reporting, "Just weeks after speeding neutrinos seem to have broken the speed of light, another universal law, the fine structure constant might be about to crumble." Astronomical observations seem to indicate that the constant, which controls the strength of electromagnetic interactions, is different in distant parts of the universe. Among other things, the paper may explain why the laws of physics in our corner of the universe seem to be finely tuned to support life. The research is so controversial that it took over a year to go from submission to publication in Physical Review Letters, rather than the weeks typical of most other papers appearing in the peer-reviewed journal."
Medicine

Submission + - Light barrier repels mosquitoes (forbes.com)

Submitted by kodiaktau
kodiaktau writes: Dr. Szabolcs Marka has received one of five $1M grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to continue his experiments with using light beams to create mosquito barriers. This is the second grant he has received from the foundation and proves to be a deviation from the previous and more dangerous use of lasers to control mosquitoes. A video can be seen here
Science

Submission + - The Physics of Jump Rope (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Last year, Jeffrey Aristoff and Howard Stone, mechanical engineers at Princeton University, were at the gym waiting for a pickup game of basketball. To warm up, Stone started jumping rope. As the rope whizzed over the head of his colleague, Aristoff wondered, "Is it known how jump ropes bend in the wind?" A few literature searches later, he concluded that the answer was, "not really." Now, the two have solved the problem themselves.
Hardware

Submission + - Gecko-Inspired Robot Rolls Up Walls (discovery.com)

Submitted by
RedEaredSlider
RedEaredSlider writes: "We all love climbing robots. A group of researchers in Canada has decided to combine the mechanism geckos use to stick to walls with the simplicity of a tank tread. The result is a 'bot that can roll up smooth (and some not so smooth) surfaces. Such robots are easier to control than those that try to simulate walking directly."

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