Mark's Decoded Science Articles

First Rocket-Powered Flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo
May 1, 2013

Always wanted to take a trip to space? Monday’s powered flight of entrepreneur Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo takes us one step closer to a future where civilian space travel is as common as hopping on an airplane is today. Branson’s Virgin Galactic offers tickets to ride on 6-passenger SpaceShipTwo to the edge of space . . . READ ARTICLE

The Latest from CERN: It’s a Higgs!
March 19, 2013

At the March 14, 2013 Rencontres de Moriond conference in La Thuile, Italy, CERN physicists confirmed the new fundamental particle discovered in the Large Hadron Collider is a Higgs boson. Ever cautious, CERN labeled the findings “preliminary new results.” The existence of still heavier Higgs bosons . . . READ ARTICLE

The Most Significant Physics Breakthrough of 2012
January 2, 2013

Selecting the top story in physics is difficult most years, but for 2012 there is no contest. The discovery of a “Higgs-like” particle at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is the clear winner. It is number one on most everyone’s list and arguably the greatest scientific discovery in the 21st century to date . . . READ ARTICLE

It’s on the radio. It’s in the news. On July 4, 2012, the long awaited CERN announcement declared a new particle has been found. But is it the Higgs boson — the fundamental particle which gives other particles their mass? CERN physicists say they need more analysis to be sure . . . READ ARTICLE

Is There a Connection Between a Burning Log and E=mc2?
December 18, 2012

A Decoded Science reader asked the question: When I burn a log in the fireplace, am I converting mass to energy? Some say that only chemical bonds are being broken, but so what? E=mc2, doesn’t it? A common misconception is that Einstein’s famous equation applies only to nuclear processes such as . . . READ ARTICLE

Alexander Friedmann: Unsung Hero of Modern Cosmology
October 31, 2012

Ninety years ago, Russian matematician Alexander Friedmann raised the possibility of an expanding universe. He showed that our cosmos could have begun in a singularity — just what our current big bang theory predicts. Who was this man and . . . READ ARTICLE

Higgs Hedge: CERN Announces Definite Maybe
July 4, 2012

Quantum Breakthrough: Feynman Diagram Sampling and Feedback
March 23, 2012

Quantum mechanics is the most accurate (and strangest) theory in the history of physics. Yet it has great difficulty making accurate predictions for “many-body” systems — those involving a large number of particles . . . READ ARTICLE

A Universe from Nothing? Lawrence Krauss’ Theories Explained
March 12, 2012

Is “God” necessary for the creation of the universe? This is the central question in Lawrence Krauss’s popular science book, A Universe from Nothing. After a fascinating tour of modern cosmology, Krauss reveals . . . READ ARTICLE

The Search for Dark Matter: Largest Survey Ever
January 15, 2012

An international team of astronomers generated the largest map yet of the most abundant (and most mysterious) form of matter in our universe — dark matter. Results support the view that this invisible substance is the cosmic glue which holds galaxies and clusters of galaxies together. . . . READ ARTICLE

Has the Elusive Higgs Boson Finally Been Found? CERN’s
Tantalizing Evidence.
December 14, 2011

The particle physics community is all abuzz: on Tuesday, the CERN Council reported encouraging data in the search for what has been called the “Holy Grail of high-energy physics” — finding the hypothetical particle called the Higgs-boson particle. Also called the “God Particle,” it is the last . . . READ ARTICLE

New Research Reveals Physics Behind Great White Shark Attacks
December 10, 2011

How do great white sharks stalk their prey beneath the waves? A paper by Neil Hammerschlag and the late R. Aidan Martin, in the latest Marine Biology Research Journal, reveals how the physics of light-scattering in ocean waters helps the great predator maintain . . . READ ARTICLE