Portal:Physics/2009 Selected articles
|
Please do not edit this page directly. Instead, use one of the "Edit" links on the bottom right of the corresponding section. This will ensure that you edit the correct page for your changes to appear on Portal:Physics in the correct week.
January
[edit]![]() |
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory |
The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) is a United States laboratory that focusses on rare isotope research. Established in 1963, it is located on the campus of Michigan State University. Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, the NSCL operates two superconducting cyclotrons. In December 2008, the Department of Energy announced that the NSCL would host the Faculty for Rare Isotope Beams. The NSCL employs 300 people, and awards ~10% of the United States' nuclear science doctorates.
November
[edit]![]() |
Cloud to Ground Lightning |
Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. In the atmospheric electrical discharge, a leader of a bolt of lightning can travel at speeds of 60,000 m/s (130,000 mph), and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000 °C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse silica sand into glass channels known as fulgurites which are normally hollow and can extend some distance into the ground. There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year.