The Ultimate Field Guide to Subatomic Particles

From io9:

Muons, neutrinos, supersymmetric partners, the infamous Higgs boson - with so many different subatomic particles flying about, it's no wonder theoretical physics can be so confusing. That's why we made this (reasonably) simple guide to all the different elementary particles.

This is, as you might imagine, a pretty big topic, so we're splitting it into (at least) two posts. Today we're going to deal with just the particles that physicists are certain (or, at least, reasonably certain) exist, and then tomorrow we'll get into the even stranger world of particles that have been hypothesized but may or may not actually exist. I've also made a handy cheat sheet listing all the elementary particles and their vital statistics, which you can find here. But to understand what all of that means, you'll really want to read on.

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A New Generation Of Helicopters Are Smashing Speed Records

Faster Helicopters More Rotors, More Speed -- The Economist

A new type of helicopter breaks speed records.

THE ability of a helicopter to hover and land almost anywhere makes it an enormously useful machine. But helicopters have their limitations, particularly when it comes to flying fast. In a recent series of test flights, a new type of chopper has begun smashing speed records.

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Gene Limits Learning And Memory In Mice

Researchers have found that deleting the RGS14 gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible. (Credit: iStockphoto)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2010) — Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.

Mice with a disabled RGS14 gene are able to remember objects they'd explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice, suggesting that RGS14's presence limits some forms of learning and memory.

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Exclusive: Boeing Launches Search For Crucial Rare Earth Elements

In the movie 'Avatar,' unobtainium is a rare, precious element that triggers an interspecies war. Credit: Twentieth Century Fox

From Tech News Daily:

Boeing has signed a deal to deploy remote sensing technology to map out U.S. deposits of rare earth elements.

The rare earth family of minerals is the real-life version of the precious element "unobtanium" in James Cameron's movie "Avatar." They are used to make everything from military hardware to humble cell phones, but could soon be in short supply as worldwide demand outstrips mining production in China.

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Ozone Layer Depletion Has Been Halted

An image of the ozone hole above Antarctica in 2010, as recorded by NASA's daily Ozone Hole Watch survey. Credit: NASA/Ozone Hole Watch

From Cosmos:

GENEVA: The protective ozone layer in the Earth's upper atmosphere has stopped thinning and should largely be restored by mid century thanks to a ban on harmful chemicals, U.N. scientists said.

The "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010" report said a 1987 international treaty that phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) - substances used in refrigerators, aerosol sprays and some packing foams - had been successful.

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7 Lesser Known Wonders Of The World

Photo: Jean-Marie Hullot

From Environmental Graffiti:

We all know that there are sights on earth regarded as the Wonders of the World – whether ancient or modern – sights such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, or the Grand Canyon in Colorado with its awesome grandeur. These are not, however, necessarily the sights you have to see, because the word 'wonder' can apply to so many other locations around the globe. Here are a selection of stunning places to see, if you ever get the chance.

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The New Twitter Isn't Nearly New Enough

From Daily Finance:

As a Twitter user, I was interested in seeing just how different Twitter.com's new incarnation actually is, especially because it's been billed as the most significant product release for the micro-messaging service in a long time.

Would it finally give me a reason to ditch my Twitter client and go back to Twitter.com? Would it finally produce a revenue model commensurate with the company's stiff venture capital valuation and immense promise? Would it leap tall buildings in a single bound? Alas, none of the above. The new Twitter is fairly tame -- and fairly indicative of the troubles that have beset the popular but not easily monetizable company.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab Coming to All Four Major U.S. Carriers

From The Daily Tech:

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon will all get version of the Galaxy Tab

Following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S which has made its way to Sprint (Epic 4G), Verizon (Fascinate), T-Mobile (Vibrant), and AT&T (Captivate), Samsung announced today that its 7" Galaxy Tab will also find a home on all four of the major U.S. wireless carriers.

Samsung's all or nothing approach with the Galaxy S smartphone chassis has paid off greatly as the company announced sales of one million phones within the first 45 days of ability. This figure didn't even take into consideration the Verizon Fascinate which hadn't yet been launched at the time of that announcement.

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Sunspots Could Soon Disappear For Decades: Study

Photo Credit: NASA/TRACE

From Physorg.com:

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sunspot formation is triggered by a magnetic field, which scientists say is steadily declining. They predict that by 2016 there may be no remaining sunspots, and the sun may stay spotless for several decades. The last time the sunspots disappeared altogether was in the 17th and 18th century, and coincided with a lengthy cool period on the planet known as the Little Ice Age.

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US Assessment Of Terrorist Threats Poor, Says Panel

From New Scientist:

Only "low confidence" should be placed in most of the risk analyses of terrorist threats conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security, concludes a review by a National Research Council panel.

Created after the 9/11 attacks to cover national perils ranging from terrorism to natural disasters, the DHS got off to a rough start. Critics blasted its lack of attention to natural disasters after its bungled response to hurricane Katrina.

Yet the panel finds that DHS models for natural disaster risks are "near the state of the art" and well suited to assess the effects of earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

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My Comment: The full report can be read here.

Around The Solar System (Photo Gallery)

A setting last quarter crescent moon and the thin line of Earth's atmosphere are photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member as the International Space Station passes over central Asia on Sept. 4th, 2010. (NASA)

From The Big Picture:

With dozens of spacecraft currently orbiting, roving or otherwise and traveling through our solar system, I thought it would be interesting to get a general snapshot in time, using images from NASA and ESA spacecraft near Mercury, Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn and a few in-transit to further destinations. Collected here are recent images gathered from around our solar system, at scales ranging from mere centimeters to millions of kilometers. (32 photos total)

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Fast Flip Of Earth's Poles

Possible evidence for the rapid reversal was in rocks formed from lava flows in Nevada's Sheep Creek Range. Credit: Scott Bogue

From New Science:

Volcanic rocks may record an unusually sudden magnetic field reversal.

Rocks may not talk, but they do tell tales. You just have to know how to read them.

A large rock formation near Battle Mountain, Nev., tells a dramatic story in the history of the Earth. You’d never guess if you saw the rocks because they look ordinary. But after studying minerals in those rocks, geologists report that 15 million years ago, the Earth’s magnetic field flipped: The north magnetic pole headed south, and it did so surprisingly quickly.

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‘Batman’ Prepares To Join The Air Force

From the Danger Room:

Grappling hooks attached to siphon electricity from low-hanging power lines. Computers mounted onto a commando’s chest plate. Communications gadgets small enough to fit into gear pouches worn around the waist. The Air Force is actually preparing its special operators to act (and outfit themselves) more like the Batman.

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My Comment: What I find interesting (and amusing) about the Air Force logo, is that it looks very similar to the logo from Russia's GRU (military intelligence).

Wireless Recharging For Mobile Phones By 2012

Messy wires and cables will soon be a thing of the past Photo: CORBIS

From The Telegraph:

Mobile phone users will be able to charge their devices wirelessly for the first time from 2012.

Fujitsu, the Japanese technology company, has created a system capable of simultaneously charging multiple portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and laptop computers without the need for cable connections.

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Why Some Quakes Cause Killer Tsunamis

From Futurity:

U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK)—Researchers have uncovered clues as to why some undersea earthquakes generate huge tsunamis. Their findings, published recently in the journal Science, may help explain why the 2004 Sumatra “Boxing Day Tsunami” was so devastating.

Early in the morning of December 26, 2004, a powerful undersea earthquake started close to Simeulue Island off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, and extended more than 1,200 kilometers to the north.

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What's Black and White and Could Get Newspapers Out of the Red? Apple's iPad

Many newspapers have released their own iPad apps, such as ths one from the Wall Street Journal. According to rumors, Apple aims to supplement those apps with an iTunes-based newspaper subscription service. News Corp.

From FOX News:

Paper meets plastic? Apple may be set to announce a new subscription plan for newspapers, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The paper reports that Apple is in talks with major metropolitan newspapers in the hopes of creating a business model around the growing popularity of its tablet computer, the iPad.

Such a deal would come at a time when many traditional media companies are struggling with the transition from print to digital. Newspaper sales continue to erode and there seems no end in sight for the long-term decline in advertising revenues, experts say.

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The History Of The Devil

CSN Editor: Video from GUBA

Best Of Web Video – September 2010

From New Scientist:

A psychedelic approach to artificial life, cosmic collisions making colossal black holes, magnetic whirlpools, translucent filter-feeders and half a million asteroids… and all that's just the first half of our latest round-up of the web's most amazing science and technology videos, hosted by MacGregor Campbell. Watch the show to see all of these and find out what else made our top 10 (hint: the number 1 spot is truly electrifying).

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Sailor's Body found Inside Shark At Jaws Beach

The beach near where Mr Newton was last seen is located on the small island where the 1987 Jaws film was partially filmed Photo: ALAMY

From The Telegraph:

The body of a sailor who disappeared off Jaws Beach – on an island where one of the "Jaws" movies was filmed – has been found inside the stomach of a shark.

Police in the Bahamas used fingerprints to identify Judson Newton, although they are still waiting for DNA test results.

It is unclear if the 43-year-old Mr Newton was alive when he was eaten.

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Back To The Moon’s Future

POCKMARKSLava-smoothed areas, or maria, like Oceanus Procellarum (right) and more heavily cratered lunar highlands appear in stark contrast in new laser measurements of the lunar surface. NASA/LRO/LOLA/GSFC, MIT, Brown

From New Science:

Orbiter scouts oldest spots on the lunar surface for prospective landing sites.

The moon’s face can hide its age but not its past.

Data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter describe a moon with a more complex history than previously thought and highlight what could be its oldest regions, planetary scientists report in the Sept. 16 Science. Two papers present measurements of the chemical composition of the moon’s surface, and a third details the first comprehensive crater catalog. The results reveal promising targets for future missions and support previous theories about the moon’s past.

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