четверг, 15 декабря 2011 г.

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3 Things the Higgs Boson can teach you about physics

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 04:00 AM PST

Last Tuesday, particle physicists at CERN did not announce that they had found the Higgs Boson particle. Nor did they announce that they had not found the Higgs Boson. Instead, what we got was an update on the state of the research. But it's a really tantalizing update.

The Higgs Boson is a popular, but confusing, bit of physics. You know that reality is like a Lego model, it's made up of smaller parts. We are pieced together out of atoms. Atoms are made from protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons are quarks. (Quarks and electrons, as far as we know, are elementary particles, with nothing smaller inside.) When you're talking about the Higgs Boson, you're talking about the mass of these particles. Here's an imperfect analogy: A top quark, the most massive particle we know of, is like an elephant. An electron, on the other hand, is more like a mouse. And nobody knows for certain why those differences exist.

There is a theory, though. Back in the 1960s, a guy named Peter Higgs came up with the idea that all these particles exist in a field, and their mass is a reflection of how much they interact with that field. Heavy particles have a lot of interaction. Lighter particles are relatively standoffish. If this field exists, the Higgs Boson is the tiny thing it's made of. Fermilab physicist Don Lincoln has a really great video explaining this, where he compares the Higgs field to water, and Higgs Bosons to the molecules that make up water. Everything that exists swims in an ocean of Higgses.

Tuesday morning, we learned a little more about the hunt for the Higgs Boson. But the point of the presentation wasn't really to say, "Yes, we found it" or "No, we haven't." In fact, if all you're paying attention to is that simple yes-or-no answer, you're going to miss a lot of interesting information—information that can help you better understand how science works and why the Higgs Boson is so important.

1: "Pretty sure" isn't good enough.


In the presentations, CERN researchers told us two big things:

First: Looking for the Higgs Boson used to be a lot harder because nobody knew its mass. Think of it like trying to find a single Lego piece, in a giant box of Legos, when you don't know what the piece you're looking for looks like. That's changed. Researchers now believe that the Higgs Boson, if it exists, probably has a mass somewhere between 115 and 131 gigaelectronvolts.

Second: Two different detectors on the Large Hadron Collider have found signals, consistent with what you'd expect to see from a Higgs Boson particle, within that mass range—at 126 and 124 gigaelectronvolts.

So why was the un-announcement so non-committal? Simple: Physicists don't like to be wrong.

You can't actually see a Higgs Boson. This isn't like sitting in the jungle and waiting for a rare species of panther to come along so you can photograph it. Instead, scientists are looking for the particles they've predicted that a Higgs Boson would leave behind as it decays. Say you have a hypothesis that a new species of panther exists, but it's invisible as long as it's alive. The only way to figure out whether or not it's actually there is to look for panther poop, or maybe some bits of bone and fur. Trouble is, there are lots of things in the jungle that could leave behind poop, bone, and fur. How do you know what you've found is actually evidence for the existence of the hypothetical panther?

That's essentially the problem physicists are faced with. Those intriguing signals could be decaying Higgs Bosons. They could also be normal things you'd expect to find in the aftermath of proton collisions. The only way to tell the difference is to look for an excess of those signals in the mass range where you'd expect the Higgs Boson to be. But, even if you see that, it could still be a coincidence. This is especially true of the hunt for the Higgs Boson, because it started out looking at a huge range of masses, says Greg Landsberg, professor of physics at Brown University.

"When you look at many, many places what is unlikely in a given place becomes more likely in one of many, many places," he says. "Ask an astronomer what is the probability of a particular star having a planet orbiting it. He'd say the probability is extremely small. However if you asked that differently, 'What the probability of any star having a planet,' the probability would be much closer to 1."

To make sure that the promising signals they're seeing aren't just flukes, the physicists at CERN will need to run their experiments, in that much-more-specific mass range, many more times. Right now, says Don Lincoln, there's a 1 in a 1000 chance that what they're seeing is a coincidence. But, in the past, particle physicists have found that 1-in-1000 chances aren't a very good bet. "That's equivalent to tossing a coin 10 times and having it always come up heads. To be comfortable saying we've found something we'd have to have the equivalent of tossing a coin 20 times and having that all come up heads—a 1 in a million chance," he says. The more coin tosses, the more you rule out coincidence. The physicists I spoke with said we're likely to have enough data to do that by next summer.

2: The mass of the Higgs Boson matters.

If the Higgs Boson is actually there, around 124 or 126 gigaelectronvolts, that means it's a lighter particle than many people had guessed. In fact, originally, people were looking for the Higgs Boson at masses as high as 600 gigaelectronvolts. This is interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, there's the "d'oh" factor. A big selling point on the Large Hadron Collider was the fact that it had the power necessary to study very high energies. That's what makes it different from particle accelerators that have come before, like the recently closed Tevatron. But 124-126 gigaelectronvolts is well within the range of what the Tevatron could study. In fact, the Tevatron looked at that range. It didn't see anything. This could mean that the signal CERN saw is just a coincidence. It could also mean that the Tevatron was in the right place, but missed seeing something really important.

Second, if the Higgs Boson exists and if it is light in mass, that opens up a way more awesome world for future physics research than would exist with a heavy Higgs. Physics operates on the Standard Model—a mathematical theory aimed at explaining the forces at work in the Universe and how particles interact with one another. The Standard Model requires the existence of a Higgs Boson, but a light Higgs Boson would mean that we'd have to make some changes to the way the Model works, possibly incorporating ideas like supersymmetry, says Frank Close, particle physicist at the University of Oxford.

A light Higgs also means the Large Hadron Collider has enough power to find lots of other previously unseen particles. "Strategically, if this thing turns out to be real, the fact that it is at low mass end is good news," Close says. "If it was at the high end you'd have that fear that the interesting physics was out of the LHC's reach. This suggests lots of interesting things are still available for us to find using the LHC."

3: This story will actually be a lot more exciting if it turns out that the Higgs Boson doesn't exist.

Everybody is all excited about the prospect of finding the Higgs Boson particle. This is kind of the wrong way of thinking about it.

I told you before that the existence of the Higgs Boson is part of the Standard Model—finding it is a key part of verifying that the Universe works the way we think it does.

"If we don't find it, it's extremely weird," says Jeremiah Mans, associate professor of physics at the University of Minnesota. "We know from other measurements that properties of regular particles aren't quite right unless there's a Higgs around to pull them just a bit. If you take it out, then the theory, that otherwise works well, breaks down and doesn't make the right predictions. That points to something being there."

Verifying that your big, important theory is correct is a big deal. But that outcome is also just a little boring. It would be a lot more exciting if everything we thought we knew turned out to be wrong.

And there is more than one way that the Higgs Boson could throw off the Standard Model. It could, of course, flagrantly refuse to exist. But it could also be quite a bit weirder. We could find the Higgs Boson, and it could turn out to be different than what we've been predicting. See, all this time, physicists have only really been looking for what's known as "the minimal Higgs." You can think of it as the simple version. In the minimal Higgs theory, there's only one type of Higgs Boson and it has no electrical charge, among other characteristics.

What happens if the Higgs we find turns out to have a charge? What happens if the Higgs turns out to actually be five different types of Higgses, as some versions of supersymmetry predict? If that's the case, the Standard Model could end up having to dramatically change, just like if the Higgs Boson didn't exist at all.

If, in six months, the physicists at CERN are able to say definitively that they've found the Higgs Boson, particle physicists will be gratified. They will understand the Universe in a way they didn't before and they will be able to work on some new questions. But if CERN is wrong, particle physicists won't hang their heads in shame. Instead, it could well be the most exciting day of their lives.

"If we don't find it, that would be a huge discovery," says Fermilab's Don Lincoln. "The Standard Model does work very well. We're talking on a phone, after all, and that's done through electricity, and how that works is part of the Standard Model. A new theory would make have to make some similar predictions, but it would rewrite textbooks."

• • • •

For more information on the Higgs Boson and particle physics, I recommend checking out a couple of books:

Frank Close has a book called The Infinity Puzzle, about the history of Peter Higgs, the Higgs field, and the hunt for the Higgs Boson.

Don Lincoln, who, over the last couple days, has become one of my favorite explainers of physics, has a book called The Quantum Frontier. It's about the Large Hadron Collider—how it works, what we can do with it, and what it might teach us about the Universe.

Image: A rendering of one of the events, captured by the Large Hadron Collider's CMS detector, that could be evidence of a decaying Higgs Boson particle. Or, it could just be stuff that happens when protons collide. Either way, it's kind of pretty.

Squeak's Dreams - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:23 AM PST

Squeak's Dreams trailer.

Elf Rescue - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:20 AM PST

Gameplay video.

Funny Hell - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:25 AM PST

Funny Hell first trailer.

Kinect Sports: Season 2 - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:00 AM PST

Maple Lakes DLC trailer.

PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:45 AM PST

PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond teaser trailer.

Fruit Ninja Kinect - Videos and Trailers

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:32 AM PST

A free gift trailer.

Gifsicle 1.64 - Create, edit and retrieve information about GIF. (Free)

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:18 AM PST

Gifsicle is a command-line tool for creating, editing, and getting information about GIF images and animations. Making a GIF animation with gifsicle is easy:

gifsicle --delay=10 --loop *.gif > anim.gif

Extracting frames from animations is easy too:

  • gifsicle anim.gif '#0' > firstframe.gif
  • You can also edit animations by replacing, deleting, or inserting frames:
  • gifsicle -b anim.gif --replace '#0' new.gif
Some more gifsicle features:
  • Batch mode for changing GIFs in place.
  • Prints detailed information about GIFs, including comments.
  • Control over interlacing, comments, looping, transparency...
  • Creates well-behaved GIFs: removes redundant colors, only uses local color tables if it absolutely has to (local color tables waste space and can cause viewing artifacts), etc.
  • It can shrink colormaps and change images to use the Web-safe palette (or any colormap you choose).
  • Optimize your animations! This stores only the changed portion of each frame, and can radically shrink your GIFs. You can also use transparency to make them even smaller. Gifsicle's optimizer is pretty powerful, and usually reduces animations to within a couple bytes of the best commercial optimizers.
  • Unoptimizing animations, which makes them easier to edit.
  • A dumb name.



Version 1.64:
  • gifsicle: Add --resize-fit options. Tom Glenne request.


Mac OS X 10.5 or later

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EasyCloud 1.4.5 - Immediately sync files across devices.. (Shareware)

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:29 AM PST



With EasyCloud simply drag and drop your data files into the Drop Window: you will have your files immediately available on all your devices, "Drop" function EasyCloud is capable of syncing files across Macs configured with iCloud. (Same account "iCloud" on all Macs), "Mac to Mac" function
  • Easy to use: With EasyCloud simply drag and drop your data files into the cloud window: you will have your files immediately available on all your devices
  • Speedy: EasyCloud is incredibly fast, a single operation and that's all


Version 1.4.5:
  • iCloud Check status.


  • Mac OS X 10.7.2 or later
  • 64-bit processor


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SerialPort X 2.1 - Allows access to internal modem/serial ports from AppleScript.. (Free)

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 03:16 AM PST

SerialPort X is a scripting addition that allows access to an internal modem or standard serial ports from AppleScript. Includes AppleScript examples and an Address Book plug-in to dial phone numbers via the internal modem.

Commands: list, open, close, bytes available, read, write, status, toggle.

Version 2.1:

  • Added command to check status of CTS, RTS and DTR lines
  • Added command to toggle RTS and DTR lines high / low




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JFB, Vol. 2, Pages 391-413: Thrombin Production and Human Neutrophil Elastase Sequestration by Modified Cellulosic Dressings and Their Electrokinetic Analysis

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

Wound healing is a complex series of biochemical and cellular events. Optimally, functional material design addresses the overlapping acute and inflammatory stages of wound healing based on molecular, cellular, and bio-compatibility issues. In this paper the issues addressed are uncontrolled hemostasis and inflammation which can interfere with the orderly flow of wound healing. In this regard, we review the serine proteases thrombin and elastase relative to dressing functionality that improves wound healing and examine the effects of charge in cotton/cellulosic dressing design on thrombin production and elastase sequestration (uptake by the wound dressing). Thrombin is central to the initiation and propagation of coagulation, and elastase is released from neutrophils that can function detrimentally in a stalled inflammatory phase characteristic of chronic wounds. Electrokinetic fiber surface properties of the biomaterials of this study were determined to correlate material charge and polarity with function relative to thrombin production and elastase sequestration. Human neutrophil elastase sequestration was assessed with an assay representative of chronic wound concentration with cotton gauze cross-linked with three types of polycarboxylic acids and one phosphorylation finish; thrombin production, which was assessed in a plasma-based assay via a fluorogenic peptide substrate, was determined for cotton, cotton-grafted chitosan, chitosan, rayon/polyester, and two kaolin-treated materials including a commercial hemorrhage control dressing (QuickClot Combat Gauze). A correlation in thrombin production to zeta potential was found. Two polycarboxylic acid cross linked and a phosphorylated cotton dressing gave high elastase sequestration.

JFB, Vol. 2, Pages 373-390: Ionic and Polyampholyte N-Isopropylacrylamide-Based Hydrogels Prepared in the Presence of Imprinting Ligands: Stimuli-Responsiveness and Adsorption/Release Properties

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

The conformation of the imprinted pockets in stimulus-responsive networks can be notably altered when the stimulus causes a volume phase transition. Such a tunable affinity for the template molecule finds interesting applications in the biomedical and drug delivery fields. Nevertheless, the effect that the binding of the template causes on the stimuli-responsiveness of the network has barely been evaluated. In this work, the effect of two ionic drugs used as templates, namely propranolol hydrochloride and ibuprofen sodium, on the responsiveness of N-isopropylacrylamide-based hydrogels copolymerized with acrylic acid (AAc) and N-(3-aminopropyl) methacrylamide (APMA) and on their ability to rebind and to control the release of the template was evaluated. The degree of swelling and, in some cases, energetics (HS-DSC) of the transitions were monitored as a function of temperature, pH, and concentration of drug. Marked decrease in the transition temperature of the hydrogels, accompanied by notable changes in the transition width, was observed in physiological NaCl solutions and after the binding of the drug molecules, which reveals relevant changes in the domain structure of the hydrogels as the charged groups are shielded. The ability of the hydrogels to rebind propranolol or ibuprofen was quantified at both 4 and 37 °C and at two different drug concentrations, in the range of those that cause major changes in the network structure. Noticeable differences between hydrogels bearing AAc or APMA and between imprinted and non-imprinted networks were also observed during the release tests in NaCl solutions of various concentrations. Overall, the results obtained evidence the remarkable effect of the template molecules on the responsiveness of intelligent imprinted hydrogels.

Marine Drugs, Vol. 9, Pages 2717-2728: Tetrodotoxin-Bupivacaine-Epinephrine Combinations for Prolonged Local Anesthesia

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

Currently available local anesthetics have analgesic durations in humans generally less than 12 hours. Prolonged-duration local anesthetics will be useful for postoperative analgesia. Previous studies showed that in rats, combinations of tetrodotoxin (TTX) with bupivacaine had supra-additive effects on sciatic block durations. In those studies, epinephrine combined with TTX prolonged blocks more than 10-fold, while reducing systemic toxicity. TTX, formulated as Tectin, is in phase III clinical trials as an injectable systemic analgesic for chronic cancer pain. Here, we examine dose-duration relationships and sciatic nerve histology following local nerve blocks with combinations of Tectin with bupivacaine 0.25% (2.5 mg/mL) solutions, with or without epinephrine 5 µg/mL (1:200,000) in rats. Percutaneous sciatic blockade was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats, and intensity and duration of sensory blockade was tested blindly with different Tectin-bupivacaine-epinephrine combinations. Between-group comparisons were analyzed using ANOVA and post-hoc Sidak tests. Nerves were examined blindly for signs of injury. Blocks containing bupivacaine 0.25% with Tectin 10 µM and epinephrine 5 µg/mL were prolonged by roughly 3-fold compared to blocks with bupivacaine 0.25% plain (P < 0.001) or bupivacaine 0.25% with epinephrine 5 µg/mL (P < 0.001). Nerve histology was benign for all groups. Combinations of Tectin in bupivacaine 0.25% with epinephrine 5 µg/mL appear promising for prolonged duration of local anesthesia.

Marine Drugs, Vol. 9, Pages 2705-2716: Cembranoids from the Dongsha Atoll Soft Coral Lobophytum crassum

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

Chemical investigation of the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Lobophytum crassum has afforded four new cembranoids, crassumols A–C (1–3) and 13-acetoxysarcophytoxide (4). The structures of these isolated compounds were elucidated by extensive NMR and HRESIMS experiments. The cytotoxicity and anti-HCMV (Human cytomegalovirus) activities of 1–4 were evaluated in vitro. Compound 4 exhibited cytotoxicity against A-549 (human lung carcinoma) cell line with an ED50 of 3.6 μg/mL.

Marine Drugs, Vol. 9, Pages 2683-2704: Tetrodotoxin as a Tool to Elucidate Sensory Transduction Mechanisms: The Case for the Arterial Chemoreceptors of the Carotid Body

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 12:00 AM PST

Carotid bodies (CBs) are secondary sensory receptors in which the sensing elements, chemoreceptor cells, are activated by decreases in arterial PO2 (hypoxic hypoxia). Upon activation, chemoreceptor cells (also known as Type I and glomus cells) increase their rate of release of neurotransmitters that drive the sensory activity in the carotid sinus nerve (CSN) which ends in the brain stem where reflex responses are coordinated. When challenged with hypoxic hypoxia, the physiopathologically most relevant stimulus to the CBs, they are activated and initiate ventilatory and cardiocirculatory reflexes. Reflex increase in minute volume ventilation promotes CO2 removal from alveoli and a decrease in alveolar PCO2 ensues. Reduced alveolar PCO2 makes possible alveolar and arterial PO2 to increase minimizing the intensity of hypoxia. The ventilatory effect, in conjunction the cardiocirculatory components of the CB chemoreflex, tend to maintain an adequate supply of oxygen to the tissues. The CB has been the focus of attention since the discovery of its nature as a sensory organ by de Castro (1928) and the discovery of its function as the origin of ventilatory reflexes by Heymans group (1930). A great deal of effort has been focused on the study of the mechanisms involved in O2 detection. This review is devoted to this topic, mechanisms of oxygen sensing. Starting from a summary of the main theories evolving through the years, we will emphasize the nature and significance of the findings obtained with veratridine and tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the genesis of current models of O2-sensing.

FIFA Soccer Gameplay Trailer

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 11:20 PM PST

Check out a FIFA Soccer gameplay trailer for Vita.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"FIFA Soccer Gameplay Trailer" was posted by MikeTao on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:20:00 -0800

FIFA Soccer - Doing Away With the No-Hands Rule on the Vita

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 11:00 PM PST

EA is bringing the beautiful game to the Vita and using touch-screen inputs to change the play on the pitch.

 

Everyone knows that you can't use any part of your hand or arm to play soccer unless you're the goalkeeper, but EA Sports is ignoring that particular rule with the upcoming Vita launch title, FIFA Soccer. For the first soccer game on the Vita, the use of your fingers could play an important role in winning matches.

[ Watch Video ]

See how FIFA Soccer will look on your PlayStation Vita

Right off the bat, FIFA on the Vita looks and sounds as you might expect. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith's commentary is spot-on, while the players look fantastic. But what makes this version of FIFA different from its console brethren is how the touch-screen input opens the door to some interesting gameplay changes. Don't worry: You still have standard face-button controls, but thanks to the touch functionalities of both the front screen and rear touch panel, you can be a whole lot more precise when it comes to making location-specific plays.

In a nutshell, you touch the player on the pitch and have the pass go directly to him. On top of that, both lob and through passes will be performed in a similar fashion. Quick flicks with your finger will initiate lobs and crosses, while tapping the general vicinity of where you want the ball to go will initiate through passes. Although this opens the door to some interesting situations, you may have to get used to determining the right length of time required to press on the screen to ensure a successful pass.

Shooting is where the rear touch panel comes into play. Like the 3DS version of FIFA, you can use touch input to determine where you want your shot to go. Imagine the back pad as a goal; where you put pressure will play into where a particular shot goes. Similar to the 3DS, the player's skill and location, as well as the length of time you apply pressure on the pad, factor into the success of the shot.

While using the rear touch panel for shooting is fun, it's not perfect; it's a tad too sensitive and depending on your hand size, it's not exactly comfortable. In a number of situations, our players were taking shots at goal because the system thought our fingers were triggering a shot. On top of that, when trying to avoid resting your fingers on the touch pad with the hope of avoiding unnecessary shots, the Vita felt a tad uncomfortable. When you apply pressure on the back of the system, a marker appears onscreen to let you know that the shoot function has been disabled, but there were still a few moments when the response wasn't up to par.

Passing and shooting aren't the only elements that use the touch panel; dead ball situations also incorporate touch capabilities. For those who sometimes gripe about the less than precise defensive player switch, you will be happy to hear that on defense, you can simply touch the defender you want to control rather than cycle through players to get the one you want.

All told, FIFA on the Vita looks quite similar to its console brethren, though there are some differences on display. Most notable of these is the lack of Ultimate Team mode. That said, fans of the sport wishing to take their soccer on the go should certainly keep an eye on this game when it is launched in North America this February.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"FIFA Soccer - Doing Away With the No-Hands Rule on the Vita" was posted by Marko Djordjevic on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:00:00 -0800

Platform Comparison - Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:00 PM PST

Curious to see how the smartphone version of Grand Theft Auto III shapes up against the PlayStation 2 original? Watch this comparison video to see the opening moments of both versions side by side!

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Platform Comparison - Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary" was posted by edmondt on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:00:41 -0800

GameSpot Plays Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:39 PM PST

Randolph Ramsay takes Grand Theft Auto III on iOS for a quick spin to show off the control scheme and changes!

 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"GameSpot Plays Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition" was posted by edmondt on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:39:11 -0800

The Sims FreePlay - Screenshots

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 02:32 AM PST

Key Features
• Design dream homes or get fully-furnished houses for your Sims
• Care for pets, grow gardens, even bake a cake (don't forget to share)
• Give your Sims careers and earn Simoleons to improve their situations
• Complete goals for Lifestyle Points, then spend them on hip items
• Live with your Sims in real-time (when it's day or night for you, it's the same for your Sims!)
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