Today’s physics news: Tuesday, 14 December 2010

In today’s news: Students taking maths post-16: Japan 85%, UK 14%, Voyager near Solar System’s edge, no evidence of time before Big Bang and more…

Students taking maths post-16: Japan 85%, UK 14%
A new report shows the UK performing poorly in the numbers doing maths after 16
Guardian 
 
Where have all the passionate physics teachers gone?
Physics teacher Alom Shaha appeals for more physicists to come forward and teach the subject he loves
Guardian 
 
Voyager near Solar System’s edge
The most distant spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1, returns new data suggesting it is very close to leaving the Solar System.
BBC

Big Bang: the musical
Scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider have released a charity album.
Telegraph

No evidence of time before Big Bang
Latest research deflates the idea that the Universe cycles for eternity.
Nature 
 
Higgs hunt may delay LHC’s planned shutdown
Physicists anxious to find the elusive Higgs particle want to run the Large Hadron Collider to the end of 2012 before shutting it down for upgrades
New Scientist