Artwork by Corinne Mucha for Symmetry Magazine

Uncertainty: A person talking about Signal: The word “signal” might make
how uncertain they are might seem you think of a gesture or preparing
less than confident, but for scientists, to make a turn in a car. In physics,
it can be quite the opposite. Providing a signal is the data coming from an
the measure of uncertainty gives con- expected source—the process or event
text to how well something is known. that scientists are trying to capture.
Every measurement has some degree Experiments looking for rare, faint
of error, and there’s natural variability signals (such as the decay of a single
to experimental results even without proton or the minuscule deposit of en-
human intervention. It’s only after ergy from a dark matter particle) take
scientists establish the uncertainties in great pains to understand, reduce or
a mathematical way that they can see eliminate anything that could provide
how a result compares to a numerical a false signal.
prediction or a previous measurement.

Noise: You probably don’t want a Damping: Not to be confused with

bunch of noise when you’re trying to making something wet, damping in
hear a particular sound—and physicists physics is associated with reducing
don’t want a bunch of noise when they vibrations or oscillations. This is partic-
are searching for a particular signal. ularly important in particle accelerators,
Noise is the unwanted data that can be where bunches of particles, like boats
captured along with the signal a scien- on a lake, can leave wakes behind
tist is looking for. This can come from them. These wakes make passage
things like fluctuations in electronics or trickier for the next bunch of particles.
processes near an experiment, such as Using mechanical dampers can reduce
everyday radioactive decay of materials the wake and improve how well an
or collisions of cosmic rays with the accelerator performs.
atmosphere. For experiments to work,
the signal has to rise above the noise
so that scientists can detect it.

Spin: It’s easy to imagine a spinning Beam: It’s not a steel girder or a
planet, ballerina or top. Physicists also toothy smile—a beam is a focused
use the term “spin,” but in a different stream of particles. Beams are created
way: to describe the properties of by particle accelerators and can be
particles. In particular, physicists made of different kinds of particles,
discovered that, at the quantum such as protons, electrons, neutrons,
mechanical level, particles have an in- ions or neutrinos. These concentrated
trinsic property that is like a permanent torrents of particles can be manipu-
rotation, even when a particle has zero lated, studied in physics experiments
diameter and is considered a point- or crashed into targets to create other
like object that can’t be described as kinds of particles.
rotating. Thus spin is used to describe
an effect, not the way that effect is
actually generated.

Tunneling: For physicists, tunnel- Luminosity: You might think of lumi-

ing isn’t about the habits of moles nosity as how much light something
or carving away mountains to make emits. In astrophysics, this is pretty
room for roads. Quantum tunneling close: Luminosity is how much energy
is instead a phenomenon in which a a celestial object like a star emits in a
particle can pass through a barrier it certain amount of time. But luminosity
normally wouldn’t be able to cross. is also a term in collider physics, where
It’s a result of quantum mechanics, it describes how many particles will
the strange way that things can act pass through a certain point—say, the
differently at the smallest scales than heart of a detector where the particle
they do at the larger scales that we’re collisions happen. Higher luminosity
used to. Quantum tunneling occurs, means more particle collisions and a
for example, during radioactive decay higher chance for making discoveries.
when a particle escapes the nucleus
of an atom.

Quintessence: “Quintessence” refers Lifetime: To us humans, a lifetime

to a perfect example or the essence is—if we’re lucky—about 90 years.
of something. But you also can find it For particles, it’s another story. The
in physics papers about the expansion lifetime of a particle is based on how
of the universe. Dark energy is the long it takes to decay, or transform
mysterious force thought to be driving into other (typically lighter) particles.
the expansion of our universe, defying Those that decay quickly have lifetimes
the pull of gravity at an ever-growing of slivers of a second. Higgs bosons,
rate. Scientists use the term quintes- for example, only can expect to hang
sence to discuss the theoretical idea around for about 1.6 x 10-22 seconds.
of an evolving type of dark energy that Other particles, such as protons, are
would change strength over time. incredibly long-lived. It’s unknown
whether protons decay at all. If they do,
they have a lifetime that is longer than
the entire history of our universe so far.

Interested in how the universe works? Read symmetry, an online magazine about particle physics
and its connections to life and other areas of science. Published by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. symmetrymagazine.org