Ever Wondered What a Proton Looks Like?

Jefferson Lab has a lovely animation here. It’s an artist’s work, not a computer simulation, but for all I can tell it’s remarkably accurate. Note that the flux tubes at large Bjorken-x (see axis on the left side) don’t form a triangle (as you often see in illustrations) but a Y. I wrote about this some years ago here. 

Troubles With Nuclear Fusion 

Interesting long-read by Daniel Jassby (previously at the Princeton Plasma Physics lab) about the troubles with nuclear fusion. He argues that magnetic confinement fusion (like that pursued at ITER) has not improved in the past 25 years and that inertial confinement fusion (like that pursued at NIF) now looks more promising. 

check out our video on how far away nuclear fusion really is

The Problem With Reliable News Sources

A study in Italy found that reliable science news sources are slower to provide the information that people look forIt remains to be seen whether this is also the case in other countries, but I suspect it is. It takes time to check facts and contact experts, so the people who can churn out answers quickly are unlikely to take facts seriously. In short, be wary of news outlets that cater to popular interest the moment it arises. I have a video coming up about problems with science news in a couple of weeks.

This week's video is about the real problem with quantum mechanics, and I argue that it’s chaos. Quantum mechanics, as a linear theory, has trouble reproducing non-linear, chaotic behavior, and this problem has never really been solved. In my video, I explain what this means and what Saturn's moons have to do with that.

One Final Note

I recently appeared in an interview where I commented on the status of the standard model and where progress in the foundations of physics might come from.

Check it out here 

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Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions

A contrarian scientist wrestles with the big questions that modern physics raises, and what physics says about the human condition. Here's the first review of my new book. Pre-order it here.