54% in this random ass poll say "No way (e = mc^2)"
http://www.wepolls.com/p/2879014/Do-you-think-scientists-at-...
Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
141–150 of 255 posts
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Indeed. Compare that with the other article about this currently on the first page of HN: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BREAKING_LIGHT_SPE... Which is less cautious and more of the standard fare of not-very-well-reported science. sigh
At least they didn't use the phrase "perverse and often baffling" in this one.
You've got to admit that, if confirmed, these results would raise new and troubling questions...
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is such a well known result in physics that the likelihood of it occurring here is almost zero. I remember first reading about it and the scientists basically said "we broke the speed of light" without looking for further explanations. These guys seem like they generally don't believe that they have broken the light barrier, but they need help figuring out what they actually did do from the broader community. Du…
What DenisM is describing is not the result of a systemic error. It is not an error at all. 'Something' is travelling faster than light in that experiment. The problem is that the 'something' isn't a physical object. The common example is the beam of a lighthouse. Suppose a lighthouse revolves once per minute. At one lightyear distance from the lighthouse, the angular velocity of the beam is 2*Pi lightyears per minut…
At one lightyear distance from the lighthouse, the angular velocity of the beam is 2Pi lightyears per minute*
Actually, that's the linear velocity. The angular velocity would be 2*pi radians per minute and is independent of distance.
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#144Phil Plait puts this into perspective:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/09/22/fa...
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#145I bet Fox News and the Republican Party leadership in general are going to somehow spin this into their anti-climate-change, anti-science, anti-intellectual, pro-religion messaging.
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#146Some days ago I saw some people here saying that billions of dollars was wasted in LHC. I would like to know their opinion about new findings. The post in question http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2943950 .
I would personally want more money going into scientific research (NASA, CERN, Fermilab, and others) than into war and supplying ammunition to soldiers and whatnot.
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#147A news article where both the scientists and the reporter understate the claims, publish the data, and ask other teams to please prove them wrong. I like this. Most of the time the reporters overstate the research, the scientists keep the data secret, and the general public is left scratching their heads.
This seems to be solid work. First, the group proved that the neutrino speed can be accurately measured in OPERA: http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.2822 http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/13/5/053051 Second, they compared the neutrino results with light results. Third, they ask to replicate the results in some other environment. This is a normal scientific procedure. Please also note the number and variety of authors on thi…
Phil Plait the Bad Astronomer goes into some of the technical challenges the scientists have to overcome in this experiment in laymen's terms.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/09/22/fa...
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#148Does this mean I have to buy a new textbook! BUT they are so expensive!!!
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#149A news article where both the scientists and the reporter understate the claims, publish the data, and ask other teams to please prove them wrong. I like this. Most of the time the reporters overstate the research, the scientists keep the data secret, and the general public is left scratching their heads.
It's called impartial news, possible only as a public service
Re: Speed-of-light experiments yield baffling result at LHC
#150I bet Fox News and the Republican Party leadership in general are going to somehow spin this into their anti-climate-change, anti-science, anti-intellectual, pro-religion messaging.
If all climate research was as honest as this it might be harder to put a spin on it.