Physics and the Metaphysical

6 Reasons Why The 'God Particle' Matters

In the world of science, the excitement doesn't mount much higher than the frenzy yesterday around the announcement that scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher may have found the 'God particle.' The discovery is called a boson, a class of sub-atomic particle, but the description stopped just short of confirming that it's the long-sought Higgs boson particle.

While there are still questions to ask and research to do to confirm it is indeed the Higgs boson, physicists see massive implications to the discovery.

Full Moon Names

Some almanacs like to give each month a special full moon name. Other almanacs like to reference full moons relative to seasonal markers, as defined by equinoxes and solstices. Is one way better than the other? No. Both have their roots in folklore. Here's a list of common North American full moon names, by month and by season.

9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics

So now that scientists have discovered the elusive Higgs boson, what's left in physics? Don't worry, science geeks - there are a lot left for you to work on.
Natalie Wolchover of Life's Little Mysteries put forth the 9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics. For example:

What is dark matter?
Evidently, about 84 percent of the matter in the universe does not absorb or emit light. "Dark matter," as it is called, cannot be seen directly, and it hasn't yet been detected by indirect means, either. Instead, dark matter's existence and properties are inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter, radiation and the structure of the universe. This shadowy substance is thought to pervade the outskirts of galaxies, and may be composed of "weakly interacting massive particles," or WIMPs. Worldwide, there are several detectors on the lookout for WIMPs, but so far, not one has been found. [If Not Dark Matter, then What?]

More

A Soap Bubble Is the World’s Thinnest Display Screen

Do you remember Star Trek‘s holographic viewscreens that would disappear when not in use? We may have something like them in the near future. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a system that projects images onto the surfaces of bubbles:

“It is common knowledge that the surface of soap bubble is a micro membrane. It allows light to pass through and displays the color on its structure,” the lead researcher, Yoichi Ochiai from the University of Tokyo, wrote in his blog.
“We developed an ultra-thin and flexible BRDF [bidirectional reflectance distribution function, a four-dimensional function defining how light is reflected at an opaque surface] screen using the mixture of two colloidal liquids.”

News Story and Video