Astronomy
Chemistry
Documentaries
Earth Sciences
Humanity
Life
Mathematics
Physics
Science Fiction
Technology
Chemistry
Documentaries
Earth Sciences
Humanity
Life
Mathematics
Physics
Science Fiction
Technology
Seismology Blog
The Nerd
Technology Blog
Bad Science
Educational Videos
FunMansion
Shoutfile
Hot Links
Media Bum
MilkandCookies
CollegeHumor
.
.
.
Articles / Space
Missing Piece Found in Particle Puzzle
Posted by Averusblack on July 21, 2010 at 7:14 am | Hits: 114 | Comments: 0
The CERN physics research center near Geneva, relaying the announcement from the Gran Sasso laboratory in central Italy, said the breakthrough was a major boost for its own LHC particle collider program to unveil key secrets of the cosmos.
According to physicists at Gran Sasso, after three years of monitoring multiple billions of muon neutrinos beamed to them through the earth from CERN 730 kms (456 miles) away, they had spotted one that had turned into a tau neutrino.
Behind that scientific terminology lies the long-sought proof that the three varieties of neutrinos -- sub-atomic particles that with others form the universe's basic elements -- can switch appearance, like the chameleon lizard.
The discovery is important, scientists say, because it helps explain why neutrinos arrive at earth from the sun in apparently far smaller numbers than they should under the Standard Model of physics that has held sway for some 80 years.
The fact that neutrinos are now proven to switch identities -- as posited by two Moscow scientists in the late 1960s based on earlier work by a U.S. physicist -- suggests that other types of neutrinos could exist but slip detection.
LIGHT ON DARK MATTER
In its turn, specialists say, this could help shed light on what is the dark matter that makes up about a quarter of the universe alongside the some 5 percent that is observable and the remaining 70 percent invisible "dark energy."
"This is really exciting because it shows that there are things beyond the Standard Model," said James Gillies, spokesman for CERN -- the European Organization for Nuclear Research on the border between Switzerland and France.
The search for concrete evidence of dark matter and of what it might be is part of the work of CERN's LHC, or Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest scientific machine that began operation near full force at the end of March.
But the beaming of muon neutrinos to the Italian center is not part of the LHC experiment. The beam is directed south under the Alps from another, smaller, CERN particle accelerator.
CERN quoted Lucia Votano, director of the Gran Sasso laboratories near the town of L'Aquila 112 kms south of Rome that was hit by a devastating earthquake in April last year, as saying that its work had achieved its first goal.
Scientists there were confident that the detection in the centre's OPERA experiment of a tau neutrino would be followed by others showing that neutrinos can change, she said.
Work on the behavior of neutrinos has already brought Nobel prizes to late U.S. scientist Ray Davies, who first recorded in the 1960s that fewer were coming from the sun than current theories of the universe predicted.
He shared the prize in 2002, at the age of 87 and 4 years before his death, with fellow U.S. researcher Ricardo Giacconi and Japanese physicist Masatoshi Koshiba for the contribution to astrophysics.
According to physicists at Gran Sasso, after three years of monitoring multiple billions of muon neutrinos beamed to them through the earth from CERN 730 kms (456 miles) away, they had spotted one that had turned into a tau neutrino.
Behind that scientific terminology lies the long-sought proof that the three varieties of neutrinos -- sub-atomic particles that with others form the universe's basic elements -- can switch appearance, like the chameleon lizard.
The discovery is important, scientists say, because it helps explain why neutrinos arrive at earth from the sun in apparently far smaller numbers than they should under the Standard Model of physics that has held sway for some 80 years.
The fact that neutrinos are now proven to switch identities -- as posited by two Moscow scientists in the late 1960s based on earlier work by a U.S. physicist -- suggests that other types of neutrinos could exist but slip detection.
LIGHT ON DARK MATTER
In its turn, specialists say, this could help shed light on what is the dark matter that makes up about a quarter of the universe alongside the some 5 percent that is observable and the remaining 70 percent invisible "dark energy."
"This is really exciting because it shows that there are things beyond the Standard Model," said James Gillies, spokesman for CERN -- the European Organization for Nuclear Research on the border between Switzerland and France.
The search for concrete evidence of dark matter and of what it might be is part of the work of CERN's LHC, or Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest scientific machine that began operation near full force at the end of March.
But the beaming of muon neutrinos to the Italian center is not part of the LHC experiment. The beam is directed south under the Alps from another, smaller, CERN particle accelerator.
CERN quoted Lucia Votano, director of the Gran Sasso laboratories near the town of L'Aquila 112 kms south of Rome that was hit by a devastating earthquake in April last year, as saying that its work had achieved its first goal.
Scientists there were confident that the detection in the centre's OPERA experiment of a tau neutrino would be followed by others showing that neutrinos can change, she said.
Work on the behavior of neutrinos has already brought Nobel prizes to late U.S. scientist Ray Davies, who first recorded in the 1960s that fewer were coming from the sun than current theories of the universe predicted.
He shared the prize in 2002, at the age of 87 and 4 years before his death, with fellow U.S. researcher Ricardo Giacconi and Japanese physicist Masatoshi Koshiba for the contribution to astrophysics.
Source: Reuters
Comments
There are no comments on this item.
To comment on this item, please login or register.
Article:
Space Based Detector Could Find Anti Universe
Video: Sharks Attack Sub
Space Based Detector Could Find Anti Universe (Article)
(A huge particle detector to be mounted on the International Space Station next year could find evidence for the anti-universe often evoked in science fiction, physicists said on Wednesday.)
Hits: 67
Rating: / 5
Category: Technology
Video: Sharks Attack Sub
Sharks Attack Sub (Video)
(Sensors in a shark's head allow them to detect the electrical impulses of their prey in the water, scarily enough they mistake this homemade submarine for a snack.)
Hits: 28
Rating: 2.8 / 5
Category: Life
(Some dinosaurs had feathers; others had extendable claws or elaborate spikes. But a newly described species is the first to have been found with a distinctively humped back. )
Posted on September 9, 2010 at 5:11 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 9 Hits.
(Mangroves are one of nature's most amazing factories. Providing food, shelter, jobs and protection.)
Posted on September 8, 2010 at 11:14 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 12 Hits.
(This unnamed, conceptual, robot could carry around 320 seedlings in a single load and would operate relatively autonomously.)
Posted on September 7, 2010 at 12:45 pm in Tech.
0 Comments. 18 Hits.
(Most Canadians have no idea how close they came to an invasion.)
Posted on September 6, 2010 at 7:37 am in Humanity.
0 Comments. 18 Hits.
(Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression near Mars's equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet.)
Posted on September 4, 2010 at 6:13 pm in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 22 Hits.
(Enjoy this shocking National Geographic documentary about the darker side of diamonds.)
Posted on August 30, 2010 at 6:01 pm in Humanity.
0 Comments. 55 Hits.
(ESA PR-17 2010 ESA and NASA have selected the scientific instruments for their first joint Mars mission. )
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 10:36 am in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 94 Hits.
(Macaques who witness conflict often seek out the company of other bystanders – perhaps as a way to relieve tension within the group as a whole.)
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 6:15 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 121 Hits.
(Weeks after the U.S. government claimed that the "vast majority" of oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has been taken care of, oil has possibly been found deep on the Gulf seafloor, scientists announced this week.)
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 6:14 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 113 Hits.
(New species are continually emerging from the ocean depths, comprehensive record of biodiversity reveals.)
Posted on August 3, 2010 at 10:43 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 171 Hits.
(Look to the skies on the nights of August 3rd and 4th, we may be in for a lights show as the highly charged particles of a massive explosion on the Sun hit our atmosphere. Read on for more information.)
Posted on August 3, 2010 at 7:12 am in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 148 Hits.
(Remote-controlled planes can be much more than the palm-sized toys you find at toys stores and hobby shops.)
Posted on August 3, 2010 at 5:55 am in Tech.
0 Comments. 151 Hits.
(The Chinese government this week announced the oil spill is all cleaned up in Dalian harbor, off the north coast of Liaoning province in China.)
Posted on August 3, 2010 at 5:40 am in Nature.
0 Comments. 104 Hits.
(The animals likely died of illness and malnutrition.)
Posted on July 26, 2010 at 12:46 pm in Nature.
0 Comments. 227 Hits.
(Plastiki, a 60 foot vessel buoyed by over 12,000 2-liter plastic bottles, sailed into the Sydney Harbor today, completing a 130 day, 8000 mile journey from San Francisco. )
Posted on July 26, 2010 at 8:50 am in Humanity.
0 Comments. 80 Hits.
eEarth.tv |
AidFinder.org |
FacesOfScience.com |
EEPP.org |
MMAG.ca |
SolFest.net |
Copyright 2006-2009 Hubble Media