May 2021    
         
         
 
     
 
  COVID-19
Research and news
FAQs and resources
University updates
COVID-19 vaccine		  
 
       
 
 
  Collision force  
     
  A field with four particle accelerators and a bison herd; a medical accelerator in a hospital basement; a stadium-sized X-ray microscope—Chicagoland is positively teeming with particle beams.  
     
  With the world’s most intense neutrino beam at Fermilab and Argonne’s planned upgrade to its Advanced Photon Source, the area is a hub for fundamental and applied science, engineering, and industrial development, attracting scientists from all over the world.  
     
  Magnetic anomaly  
     
 
Muon g-2 ring magnet
 
 
     
  The Muon g-2 experiment studies the “wobble” of particles called muons as they travel through a magnetic field. (Photography by Reidar Hahn/Fermilab)  
     
 
     
 
  In 2013 the Muon g-2 electromagnetic ring took an epic road trip from Brookhaven National Lab in New York to Fermilab in Illinois.  
 
       
  The Standard Model of particle physics describes scientists’ best—but incomplete—understanding of how matter in the universe interacts with fundamental forces. This April physicists announced results from Fermilab’s Muon g-2 (pronounced “g minus 2”) experiment that hint at that unknown, missing part of the model. Using a 50-foot-diameter magnet and the lab’s accelerator complex to study how fundamental particles called muons interact with a magnetic field, the experiment revealed that the muons were acting in a way that doesn’t make sense according to the Standard Model. One possible explanation: they’re interacting with undiscovered forces or particles, possibly offering a preview of new physics.  
     
 
 
  Get up to speed  
     
 
     
  1  
     
 
UChicago has a particle accelerator on campus: a cyclotron used to produce radioisotopes for nuclear medicine.
 
     
     
     
 
     
  2  
     
 
Researchers are using Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source X-rays to help turn llama antibodies into potential therapies against COVID-19.
 
     
     
     
 
     
  3  
     
 
Argonne-UChicago physicist Linda Young advances X-ray science and equity in physics.
 
     
     
     
 
     
  4  
     
 
Fermilab’s 2018 artist in residence used an electron beam to capture portraits of the invisible natural world.
 
     
     
 
         
         
    Spotlight    
         
         
 
     
  A fuzzy concept  
     
 
ferret in particle beam tube
 
 
     
  Felicia the ferret enters an accelerator tube—not yet operational—to do some cleaning. (Photo courtesy Fermilab History and Archives Project)  
     
 
     
  What do particle physicists and English poachers have in common? Both used ferrets to do their dirty work.  
     
  In 1971, Fermilab scientists had a problem: How could they clean their brand-new accelerator, destined to be four miles long? A visiting English scientist had a pipe-cleaning proposal. Meet Felicia, Fermilab’s scampering solution.  
     
     
     
  In case you missed it  
     
 
 
 
Science outreach: Virtual education is less hands-on but has its benefits.
 
 
COVID-19, a year later: Where we’ve been, where we are, and what’s next.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Support UChicago physical sciences.  
     
 
     
 
  Visit the Alumni & Friends website for stories, podcasts, and other features, curated for you on UChicago Review. Create an account for a more personalized experience.

Sign up to receive µChicago monthly.