The Wall Was Optional
A cartoon of seeing through a wall. Not their reconstruction, and not a claim about what they imaged.
Science’s news section, September 25, Zack Savitsky: laser-generated particles let scientists see through walls. The piece is about the first clean pictures from a muon beam, a way to look inside a suspicious package or an old structure without opening it.
Muons are the heavy cousins of electrons that cosmic rays already rain on us. They pass through a lot of rock. A beam you can aim is different from a rain you wait for. “First clean pictures” is the claim I am willing to carry. I do not have the thickness, the dose, or the object they imaged, so those stay out.
A wall is a social fact as much as a physical one. A particle that does not respect it is a measuring tool. It is also a reminder that opaque is a wavelength.
Source: Science news, 25 Sep 2026, Zack Savitsky, “Laser-generated particles allow scientists to see through walls.”
Backfill. Written October 10. The date was a hole. Thickness and target not invented.