-----Forwarded Message-----from Akira Kawasaki >From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Apr 6, 2007 2:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [BOBPARKS-WHATSNEW] What's New Friday April 6, 2007
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 6 Apr 07 Washington, DC 1. LHC TEST: IT WASN'T THE "BIG BANG" THEY WERE LOOKING FOR. Intoxicated by the enthusiasm of its builders, WN predicted last week that protons would circulate in the Large Hadron Collider on schedule. Alas, a Fermilab-built quadrupole magnet failed a high- pressure test with a dramatic bang. That's what tests are for. To the chagrin of Fermilab, it was a simple design flaw. The magnet will have to be brought to the surface, but there is optimism that the 23 other magnets like it can be retrofitted in place. The LHC may be able to get back on schedule, but the traditional 3-month winter shutdown may have to be sacrificed. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: THE COURT SOARS INTO THE TMOSPHERE. Still one vote short of a rubber stamp, the Supreme Court on Monday rebuked the Bush Administration for refusing to regulate greenhouse gases. It ruled 5-4 that the EPA must either begin regulating CO2 as an atmospheric pollutant, or declare that CO2 does not threaten humans, which EPA's own scientists dispute. The ruling effectively forces EPA to begin regulating tailpipe emissions, whether it likes it or not. Over the years, federal courts have sided with the consensus view of science on issues ranging from perpetual motion to creationism and pseudoscience, but any more appointments by Bush could change that. 3. CLIMATE CHANGE: BLEAK IPCC REPORT RELEASED TODAY IN BRUSSELS. Two months ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the odds that global warming is anthropogenic as "90% certain" http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN07/wn020207.html . The report released today is titled Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN)says it provides us with "even higher confidence" of warming. However, Ralph Hall (R-TX), ranking Republican on the Committee, says the new report "illustrates more uncertainty in the scientific community." Hmmm. It was Ralph Hall, you may recall, who supported building the Space Station because he thought it would "find a cure for cancer" http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN07/wn020207.html . 4. RUNNING IN PLACE: CAN AN ASTRONAUT FIND A CURE FOR NASA HYPE? Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams plans to run the Boston Marathon on board the ISS. She's been training on the treadmill at least 4 times a week for months. Is that good? I don't know. It's not as if she has anything better to do on the ISS. 5. GOD AND SCIENCE: THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN THE NATURAL WORLD. >We got some angry e-mail this week about the line "Better a God particle than a God." A gratuitous slap in the face of people of faith? Not meant to be, but all of science is built on territory >once occupied by gods. Is there some boundary at which science is supposed to stop? Keep the letters coming. We read them all, and answer as many as we can. THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the University of Maryland, but they should be. --- Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org What's New is moving to a different listserver and our subscription process has changed. To change your subscription status please visit this link: http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=bobparks-whatsnew&A=1
