LHC achieves record collisions, starts gathering data

LHC achieves record collisions, starts gathering data | TG Daily

he two 3.5 TeV beams have been circulating in opposite directions since March 19. Once scientists were confident that the beams were stable, they were allowed to collide with a combined energy of 7 TeV.

It will take some time for any new discoveries to filter through, although data is already being analyzed, according to CERN spokesman Guido Tonelli.

“We’ll address soon some of the major puzzles of modern physics like the origin of mass, the grand unification of forces and the presence of abundant dark matter in the universe. I expect very exciting times in front of us,” he said.

The next stage will be to aim for collisions at 14 TeV – although that won’t happen until the end of a maintenance shutdown planned for the end of this year.

A slow mind may nurture more creative ideas

A slow mind may nurture more creative ideas – life – 30 March 2010 – New Scientist

Jung suggests that slower communication between some areas may actually make people more creative. “This might allow for the linkage of more disparate ideas, more novelty, and more creativity,” he says.

Other studies have hinted that white matter might be similarly affected in some psychiatric disorders (see “The brain’s other half”). So the result also strengthens the link between creativity and mental illness. One of the triggers for Jung’s study was the finding that when white matter begins to break down in people with dementia, they often become more creative.