The United States' futuristic missile alert system operating from outer space moved forward with Lockheed Martin's delivery of the third "highly elliptical earth orbit" satellite payload system. A further fourth HEO is due to complete the USAF order, which will be yet another step toward initiating the Space Based Infrared System. SBIRS is designed to give the U.S. military a global cap
Russia is suspending the launches of Proton rockets after an unmanned rocket carrier exploded on takeoff this week, a source on the Russian Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan said Thursday. "The investigation commission that is looking into the causes of the accident on July 2 has made a decision to stop the preparations for the planned Proton rocket launches from Baikonur," the source told I
European astronomers said on Friday they had devised a technique to detect water in the atmosphere of planets orbiting other stars. Using a telescope in Chile, they teased out a tell-tale infra-red signature from water in the atmosphere of a gassy planet called HD 189733b, which orbits its star every two days and is hot enough to melt steel. The work is another technical breakthrough in
Scientists have set a new date for the end of the world, when all animals and plants will vanish from Earth - but it'll take another 2 billion years. While increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have people concerned about the planet's future, the scientists say it will in fact be a lack of the greenhouse gas that will bring the end to life, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
A University of Oklahoma-developed theory provides the rationale for the next-generation particle accelerator-the International Linear Collider. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Switzerland this past year prompted particle physicists to look ahead to the development of the ILC, an electron-positron collider designed to measure in detail all the propert
Electron transfer is a process by which an atom donates an electron to another atom. It is the foundation of all chemical reactions, and is of intense research because of the implications it has for chemistry and biology. When two molecules interact, electron transfer takes place in a few quadrillionths (10-15) of a second, or femtoseconds (fsec), meaning that studying this event requires very t
Researchers from McGill University, RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Wako, Japan) and the Institute for Molecular Science (Okazaki, Japan) have discovered a way to make the widely used chemical process of hydrogenation more environmentally friendly - and less expensive. Hydrogenation is a chemical process used in a wide range of industrial applications, from food pro
Existing copper resources can sustain demand for at least a century, Australian researchers say, contradicting predictions supplies would run out in 30 years. Scientists from Monash University, conducting the most systematic analysis of worldwide copper resources to date, said there are plenty of resources within the reach of current technologies. That means social and environmen
Farmers in the United States witnessed record-breaking extremes in temperature and drought during the last two summers, causing worldwide increases in the costs of food, feed and fiber. Indeed, many climate scientists caution that extreme weather events resulting from climate change is the new normal for farmers in North America and elsewhere, requiring novel agricultural strategies to prevent c
Adapting to climate change could mean billions of dollars in business opportunities for British firms, the government said this week. In its official National Adaptation Program released Monday, the British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs makes the case that despite a host of negative aspects brought on by global warming, such as severe storms and flooding, it also pre
ESA's CryoSat satellite has found a vast crater in Antarctica's icy surface. Scientists believe the crater was left behind when a lake lying under about 3 km of ice suddenly drained. Far below the thick ice sheet that covers Antarctica, there are lakes of fresh water without a direct connection to the ocean. These lakes are of great interest to scientists who are trying to understand waterOn Saturday, 28 and Sunday, 29 September, CERN will open up its installations to the general public. With the slogan “Our universe is yours”, these two Open Days will put the spotlight on CERN's discoveries and experiments, as well as the fantastic machines that lead to these discoveries.
From 9am to 8pm, visitors will have the chance to meet CERN’s researchers, engineers and technicians and to explore their laboratories, technical halls, experiments and accelerators at the biggest particle physics centre in the world. There will be some 40 visitor points: highlights for visitors to explore on the surface will include experiments at the antimatter factory, the cryogenic and crystal laboratories and the halls housing the enormous magnets. Underground, they will be able to visit the points of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – the world’s largest accelerator – and its experiments.
The Open Days have been scheduled within the long shutdown of the accelerators, during which important work is being carried out so that the LHC can run at a higher energy when it restarts in 2015.
As places on the underground visits are strictly limited, an electronic ticket office will be open throughout the second half of August: people will be able to reserve up to four tickets, which will be valid for a specific day and timeslot. The tickets will be made available on the website progressively over a period of three weeks to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to book them.
As well as the visits, numerous other activities and presentations have been planned. Around 100,000 visitors are expected over the course of these two Open Days. Free park and ride services will be provided to facilitate access, with shuttle buses from local car parks to the various CERN sites. All the visits and activities are also free of charge.