What's New Robert L. Park May 28, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, May 28, 2010   Washington, DC

1. SCIENCE: BORN ON THIS DAY 2595 YEARS AGO.
Not everyone agreed with the designation May 28 as the birthday of=20
science.  It marks the day that Thales of Miletus is alleged to have=20
predicted a solar eclipse. One reader thought the discovery of fire would=
=20
be a better choice, but of course we don't know when that happened or who=
=20
did it. Cause and effect on the other hand applies to all science. We can=
=20
begin with any phenomenon and in principle trace its cause and the cause =
of=20
its cause backward through time to the merger of all such tracks at the B=
ig=20
Bang, beyond which presumably no tracks remain. We are trying to re-creat=
e=20
the last footprints with the LHC.  We need a beginning that applies to al=
l=20
of science.  Causality does that.=20

2. GUSHER: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IS ELEVATED TO A "CATASTROPHE."
The President went on television yesterday to assure everyone that he=92s=
 in=20
charge.  At this point no one is contesting him for the honor. After top=20
kill failed, BP tried "junk shot", the last arrow in their quiver.  Same=20
result.  BP then resumed "top kill." It looks better to be seen doing=20
something, even if it doesn't work. =20

3. GLOBAL WARMING: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL RELEASES REPORTS.
Three new NRC reports draw on published studies that came out too late fo=
r=20
inclusion in the last IPCC report. The conclusions reached seem roughly i=
n=20
line with the emission reduction targets proposed by the Obama=20
administration. How will the BP catastrophe affect these conclusions?=20
Dumping oil into the ocean is not exactly the carbon sequestration progra=
m=20
the NRC had in mind.  Oil reaching the coastline from the catastrophe wil=
l=20
devastate the environment for the lifetime of everyone reading this, but=20
the effect of oil settling on thousands of square miles of ocean bottom i=
s=20
unknown.

4. HURRICANES TOO?  MORE BAD NEWS FOR THE GULF COAST.
In the Wall Street Journal this morning, Jennifer Levitz wrote, "The comi=
ng=20
Atlantic hurricane season could be the busiest on record, with the=20
possibility of the next six months bringing nearly as many hurricanes as =
in=20
2005, when Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, federal forecasters=
=20
said Thursday." Or maybe not; without some sort of probability assessment=
=20
no information is conveyed.

5. ANTIMATTER: NOW AVAILABLE ON-DEMAND.=20
Lots of anti-particles are seen in cosmic rays and in particle=20
accelerators, but what about anti-atoms? A CERN collaboration named Athen=
a=20
announced this week that it has created perhaps 50,000 antihydrogen atoms=
,=20
but it's pretty hard to build up an inventory.  Antimatter is a staple in=
=20
the science fiction world where it is often used to power spaceships.  It=
s=20
production in the laboratory is a major scientific milestone.  Athena bea=
t=20
a CERN collaboration known as Atrap to the goal. Why there is so little=20
antimatter in the universe remains a great mystery. Theory requires that=20
matter be created as particle-antiparticle pairs. Scientists will be=20
looking for any symmetry-breaking difference with ordinary hydrogen.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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