Surprising Science — September 7, 2011

Is Fundamental Physics too Theory-led?

Is fundamental physics too heavy on theory? Jon Butterworth says it’s a hugely worthwhile exercise, unless you are utterly uninterested in understanding how things work.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

What’s the Latest Development?

To some the Large Hadron Collider is a disproportionate investment of time, money and expertise. But Jon Butterworth says it is genuinely exploring new territory for whatever might be there. The energy frontier remains a frontier of knowledge.

What’s the Big Idea?

While big ideas like supersymmetry or extra dimensions have not been disproved (yet), many many options for them have been closed off. “Many of us have our favourite theories, but in the end the data decide, and as an experimentalist I am seriously enjoying making myriad bright ideas face the music. We have waited a long time, theorising and guessing. Now, at last, we are able to look at some more of the answers.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Starts With A Bang

Particle physics finally charts a healthy path forward

A great many cosmic puzzles still remain unsolved. By embracing a broad and varied approach, particle physics heads toward a bright future.

Starts With A Bang

Is theoretical physics broken? Or is it just hard?

When you don’t have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.

Starts With A Bang

We need another particle accelerator. Don’t let these 5 myths fool you

The way to understand the earliest moments of creation is to recreate those conditions and study them. Why would we stop now?

Starts With A Bang

Can the new-and-improved Large Hadron Collider save particle physics?

The Standard Model may or may not be in trouble, but particle physics definitely needs saving. Here’s what the new LHC can do.

Starts With A Bang

Don’t Let String Theory Ruin The Perfectly Good Science Of Physical Cosmology

When you mix science with speculation, you get speculation. But the underlying science is still real. Whenever you hear the phrase, “it’s just a theory,” it should trigger alarm bells in […]

Up Next

Surprising Science

How to be Smart with Hurricane Preparation

Severe storms will become the new normal. Ensuring our cities have ubiquitous Wi-Fi, GPS, smart transit, and smart grids would be a smart way to make them more resilient.