“The spirit of this is that they are trying to get us to pay attention to the issue and get our act together, which is not together.”
Frank von Hippel, Princeton University, on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “doomsday clock,” which was moved closer to midnight due to the threat climate change poses to civilization, Newark Star Ledger, January 18, 2007
“We only have to turn a knob and it slows.”
John Howell, University of Rochester, on a new method of slowing light and using the slowed light pulses to store an image, Washington Post, January 19, 2007
“The conditions here are not easy. It’s very cold and dry, and there isn’t enough oxygen. In this season of the year, there is daylight round the clock, the rooms are tiny and one can shower only twice a week for two minutes.”
Hagar Landsman, University of Wisconsin, on the conditions in Antarctica, where she is working with the IceCube project to study neutrinos, Jerusalem Post, January 28, 2007
“It’s going very well. And this is such a delicate operation. You always live on the edge with this project. It’s like driving a race car; you never know when you’re going to go off the road.”
Francis Halzen, University of Wisconsin, Madison, on the construction of the IceCube neutrino detector in Antarctica, Wisconsin State Journal, January 18, 2007
“There may be a period of time when the only thing we have in space is Webb. So we just have to get it right.”
John Mather, NASA, on the Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled for launch in 2013, Washington Post, February 5, 2007
“Even a small change in deceleration, if it goes from 1 millisecond to 3 milliseconds, it’s a factor of three. It’s the difference between a lethal force and a force that just knocks you unconscious. The awning acted as a de facto airbag.”
James Kakalios, University of Minnesota, on how a man survived a fall from a 17th floor window, Associated Press, January 23, 2007