Colliding Worlds: Standing inside a
Rube-Goldberg-like particle accelerator at CERN, physicist Michael Doser
explaisn to journalists how his team hopes to employe antimatter to
destroy cancer cells. Located in Geneva, CERN is world famous center for
nuclear research.
In a big pit at CERN, the European Institute for Nuclear Research in Geneva, a particle accelerator churns out antimatter that has the potential to treat cancer. A California company, PBar Labs, is sponsoring experiments to determine if antimatter can zap tumors in hamster cells. If this therapy works, plans are to treat human cancers. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, antimatter can be precisely calibrated to destroy only cancer cells. And as antimatter doesn't travel far in air, patients wouldn't need much shielding. The accelerator's proton source is a heavy target like tungsten. In the accelerator, these protons collide. Each million-proton collision generates one proton-antiproton pair. Physicists separate the antiprotons from the rest of the soup and slow them down in an antiproton decelerator shaped like a 100m-diameter doughnut swathed in foil and duct tape. The antimatter particles annihilate when they encounter matter, thus they can only be stored suspended in a vacuum. Antiprotons can be precisely targeted so that only in the last millimeter of their path (i.e., in the tumor) they slow down, interact with an atom and are annihilated. "The body is basically empty space," says Michael Doser, a physicist on the project who looks as if he were sent straight over from Hollywood casting. "All matter is illusion. To an antiproton, the body is just an array of atoms. Atoms consist of a tiny nucleus surrounded by a huge cloud of electrons. Antiprotons interact only with the nucleus. If you randomly kick a football through a field that only contains one other football, it is unlikely to hit anything, Doser explains.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
