Don't make any long range plans [Archive]

Elmo T

06-30-08, 03:54 PM

The wait for the new Indy chassis may be a moot point too...

Some fear debut of powerful atom-smasher (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/30/doomsdaycollider.ap/index.html)

The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August...

...critics fear the Large Hadron Collider could exceed physicists' wildest conjectures: Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth?

Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump?

Insomniac

06-30-08, 04:02 PM

http://i31.tinypic.com/2qlea7q.jpg

nrc

06-30-08, 04:15 PM

Everytime they mess with this thing something strange happens...

http://www.mattmunson.com/props/misc/overthruster/overthruster4_b.jpg

Gnam

06-30-08, 04:28 PM

Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

Just say NO to Total Protonic Reversal!
"It would be bad." -Dr. Egon Spengler

Ankf00

06-30-08, 04:36 PM

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together,... mass hysteria!!

racermike

06-30-08, 05:11 PM

Generally, you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance

Methanolandbrats

06-30-08, 05:35 PM

When I tried the link their website did'nt work :laugh:

SurfaceUnits

06-30-08, 06:20 PM

the Project's mascot

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Marvin_the_martian.jpg

http://www.gargaro.com/MaRvInWaVs/earth.wav

Jag_Warrior

06-30-08, 07:47 PM

the Project's mascot

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Marvin_the_martian.jpg

Speaking of Danica...

SurfaceUnits

07-01-08, 12:02 AM

If you need any more evidence that the world is ending, they are arresting people in England for being drunk. :eek:

RusH

07-01-08, 07:24 PM

If you need any more evidence that the world is ending, they are arresting people in England for being drunk. :eek:

no worries, when that happens in Dublin and Moscow, get prepared.

Indy

07-01-08, 07:32 PM

They also just banned smoking in coffee shops in Amsterdam.

That's going to be bad for the tourism.

racermike

07-02-08, 01:36 AM

They also just banned smoking in coffee shops in Amsterdam.

That's going to be bad for the tourism.

Someone should strike back and open a smoking shop and ban coffee drinking :D

Ankf00

07-02-08, 02:30 AM

They also just banned smoking in coffee shops in Amsterdam.

That's going to be bad for the tourism.

whoa whoa WHOA

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/h/images/harold-and-kumar-go-to-white-castle-1.jpg

ChampcarShark

07-02-08, 05:29 PM

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/h/images/harold-and-kumar-go-to-white-castle-1.jpg

ha? did you say something?

racermike

07-03-08, 01:08 AM

Test should go as planned, as long as this guy is not spotted near the facility

http://movies.infinitecoolness.com/06/contact07.jpg

:D

cart7

07-03-08, 07:35 AM

http://www.yourprops.com/norm-447a04d099eed-Back%2BTo%2BThe%2BFuture%2B2.jpeg

I'm merely hoping the thing can generate the 1.21 gigawatts I need to power this that I got at a yard sale.

Gnam

07-03-08, 12:10 PM

Don't bring the wrong currency. Only runs on jigawatts. :tony:

Insomniac

07-03-08, 03:45 PM

Don't bring the wrong currency. Only runs on jigawatts. :tony:

You mean jigowatts. :D

07-04-08, 01:34 PM

http://www.yourprops.com/norm-447a04d099eed-Back%2BTo%2BThe%2BFuture%2B2.jpeg

I'm merely hoping the thing can generate the 1.21 gigawatts I need to power this that I got at a yard sale.What a coincidence!

I'm going to buy that at a yard sale in 4 years!

09-09-08, 01:50 PM

Tomorrow is DOOOOOOMMMSDay.

See y'all on the other side.

CERN fires up new atom smasher to near Big Bang By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer
Sun Sep 7, 2:52 PM ET

GENEVA - It has been called an Alice in Wonderland investigation into the makeup of the universe — or dangerous tampering with nature that could spell doomsday.

Whatever the case, the most powerful atom-smasher ever built comes online Wednesday, eagerly anticipated by scientists worldwide who have awaited this moment for two decades.

Really. think about just how much fun it would be to have your own microscopic black hole. Oh man, the pranks you could play!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080907/ap_on_re_eu/big_bang_machine

IlliniRacer

09-09-08, 03:17 PM

Actually a black hole is already forming over the midwest. It is located at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. A once proud football franchise has been sucked in, never to be seen again.

http://deadspin.com/assets/images/deadspin/2008/09/helmetlessjackson460sept9.jpg

Sean Malone

09-09-08, 04:15 PM

I read the LHC could take at least four months to get up to full power. I like what the one guy said recently, in four years someone will notice a light coming from the bottom of the ocean.
the proponents say that successful tests may usher in a paradigm and a new age of scientific understanding will bring about things once only dreamed of. (come on light saber and teleportation!!!!) Fingers crossed!

The truth is the end is coming in 2012. The end of the Mayan calender. Just ask Google and M$ why they have redacted the portion of their astronomy software that would show the planet X that will smash into Earth on Dec 31 2012. Crop circles in London hint at this as do the millions of plastic coffins that FEMA has hidden along side US railways.

My wife gets so pissed when I joke around about this stuff but the conspiracy theory websites are probably one of the funniest things around and a great way to kill an hour.

WickerBill

09-09-08, 08:20 PM

Well I was flippin' through the channels late the other night
And I stopped upon this tele-vangel-preacher guy
And I don't know for sure but I thought I heard him say
That tomorrow was the end of the world

So I went in to my kitchen and I reached for the top shelf
And I pulled out the finest wine that I could find
Cause there's no need to save the finer things anymore
Because tomorrow is the end of the world

So do some smack, score some blow, punch a little kid in the face
And go ahead and steal an old lady's groceries
Cause there's no need to not be a grocery-stealing, smack-doing, kid-punching person anymore
Cause tomorrow is the end of the world

Well I woke up this morning and I took a look around
And of course I saw that everything was fine
But I'm still gonna have to thank that tele-vangel-preacher guy
Cause I had myself a really lovely time....

Stu

09-10-08, 07:57 AM

looks like we made it.

but then again, maybe not. maybe this is some weird alternate reality. evidence?

1. there was a massive car fire on the highway, but traffic wasn't backed up as it normally is. there were no people slamming on their brakes to gawk, traffic just flowed.

2. a bank was giving out free 2 dollar bills as i was walking to my office.

3. my boss came to my desk to talk about stuff, rather than making me go to hers.

the world is upside-down i tell you.

eiregosod

09-10-08, 08:52 AM

I read the LHC could take at least four months to get up to full power. I like what the one guy said recently, in four years someone will notice a light coming from the bottom of the ocean.
the proponents say that successful tests may usher in a paradigm and a new age of scientific understanding will bring about things once only dreamed of. (come on light saber and teleportation!!!!) Fingers crossed!

The LHC will be the greatest thing this generation will be remembered for. A project that involves tens of thousands of people, co-operation between governments to fund this, and massive academic and custom construction collaboration to bring this project to fruition.

No one person will be remembered for this, but those involved take a bow.

racermike

09-10-08, 03:18 PM

Technically they cannot end the world yet, as its not up to full speed yet.

Just test runs so far.

Once they crank up the juice, thats when the fun (or not so fun) begins.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k100/dennysgod/LHC.jpg
--- stolen from FARK.com

Gnam

09-10-08, 03:56 PM

Tony George heard about CERN, a 1.25 mile oval with the potential to create something that sucks, and immediately declared it the site of the first Euro Indy.

Seiously though, can they shift me into an alternate reality where CART is still racing and FTG runs a tenderlioin cart out side 16th and Georgetown?

eiregosod

09-10-08, 09:37 PM

I see an unscientific poll conducted by a local newspaper. Its 50:50 whether the money for the Hadron collider should be spent on more worthwhile causes.

It cost $9bn to build. Add in the number of nations that contributed and you'll find it cost the governemns very little over the years it was built. now ask yourself what would $9bn buy in todays money?

emjaya

09-10-08, 10:32 PM

cameraman

09-11-08, 12:05 AM

I see an unscientific poll conducted by a local newspaper. Its 50:50 whether the money for the Hadron collider should be spent on more worthwhile causes.

Polling the public about the value of any physics research is just silly. They don't have the faintest hint of a clue what the project is about so how can the judge its value.:irked:

eiregosod

09-11-08, 06:18 AM

Polling the public about the value of any physics research is just silly. They don't have the faintest hint of a clue what the project is about so how can the judge its value.:irked:

Lets face it, the way the initial experiment was packaged was that it could create a black hole and swallow the earth whole.

JLMannin

09-11-08, 11:45 AM

Read Stepnen Hawkings "A Brief History of Time" - microscopic black holes, even if they were to form, would evaporate very quickly.

The you-tube videos showing the animations of a potential microscopic black hole swallowing up the Earth starting just under the surface of Geneva are quite stupid.

Think about gravity and where such an object would be attracted towards if it did not rapidly dissipate in accordance with Hawking's theories on black holes.

I'll give you all a hint, at's about 4,000 miles from where you are right now.

Also consider that many physicists postulate that such microscopic black holes are formed when high energy gamma-ray bursts strike particles in our planets atmosphere, and after 4.5 billion years, one of those have not done us in yet.

When the accerator at Fermilab started up, that was supposed to do us all in as well

datachicane

09-26-08, 06:42 PM

Q:
Why haven't we detected any signs of extraterrestrial civilizations?

A:
Eventually they all build a LHC, and >>pop!<<

:tony:

oddlycalm

09-26-08, 07:52 PM

Polling the public about the value of anything beyond their favorite food is just silly. They don't have the faintest hint of a clue about anything beyond that

Fixered that for you. I can't offer clinical proof, but the evidence is mounting...:laugh:

oc

Ankf00

09-26-08, 08:18 PM

Q:
Why haven't we detected any signs of extraterrestrial civilizations?

A:
Eventually they all build a LHC, and >>pop!<<

:tony:

:rofl:

Fixered that for you. I can't offer clinical proof, but the evidence is mounting...:laugh:

oc

Jake's #14, an order of onion rings & fried japs, small chocolate shake & dr pepper. http://www2.hornfans.com/wwwthreads/images/icons/smokin.gif

Gnam

09-26-08, 08:23 PM

Who would win in a football game between the LHC and the US Credit Market?

I say LHC wins it 21-3.
The USCM can't stand up against the blitz and throwing into coverage against the LHC is like throwing into a black hole. :p

datachicane

09-26-08, 08:35 PM

http://img.allvoices.com/thumbs/event/550/400/18335193.jpg

emjaya

10-19-09, 08:13 AM

SCIENTISTS claim the giant atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is being jinxed from the future to save the world.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26229233-5014239,00.html

:saywhat:

Indy

10-19-09, 02:23 PM

This does have a certain symmetry to it. If time travel is possible in the future, and the collider is a threat to Earth, then by necessity future humans will have returned to put a stop to it. Or the fabric of nature itself. No difference, really.

And if you ask yourself the question, why are we on the timeline in which that occurs, the answer is that if we were not, we would not be having this discussion, so by definition only timelines in which the Earth is saved will be aware of it being saved, thus the question is meaningless.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7366/neowhoa.jpg

Elmo T

10-19-09, 03:38 PM

so by definition only timelines in which the Earth is saved will be aware of it being saved, thus the question is meaningless.

So in the multi-universe theory, where does this put the earth that will be destroyed when they fire this thing up?

10-19-09, 03:49 PM

So in the multi-universe theory, where does this put the earth that will be destroyed when they fire this thing up?

You're a figment of my imagination.

Now, send me money.

:tony:

Indy

10-19-09, 07:37 PM

So in the multi-universe theory, where does this put the earth that will be destroyed when they fire this thing up?

Well, since they have already tried to fire it up and failed, those timelines have a little black hole (or something) where Earth used to be.

So if you have invented a timeline switcheroo thingy, you may want to be careful about which one you choose to visit. :D

TravelGal

10-20-09, 02:27 AM

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26229233-5014239,00.html

:saywhat:

You read it there first. Downunder. Upside downside. Say what? I think that Dane should stick to making butter. It ran and didn't blow us to kingdom come so now they are calling that a "test run"?

Opposite Lock

11-06-09, 05:02 PM

The future now seems to be employing baguette-dropping birds in its continued efforts to stop the LHC:

Now, a bird dropping a piece of bread on a section of the accelerator has, according to the Register, shut down the whole operation.

The bird dropped some bread on a section of outdoor machinery, eventually leading to significant over heating in parts of the accelerator. The LHC was not operational at the time of the incident, but the spike produced so much heat that had the beam been on, automatic failsafes would have shut down the machine.
:saywhat:

http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/11/06/0824213/LHC-Shut-Down-Again-mdash-By-Baguette-Dropping-Bird

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/bread-loving-bird-shuts-down-lhc

oddlycalm

11-06-09, 07:41 PM

The future now seems to be employing baguette-dropping birds in its continued efforts to stop the LHC
Yes, that bird had uncanny knowledge of the key vulnerability. :gomer:

oc

Elmo T

11-06-09, 09:50 PM

Yes, that bird had uncanny knowledge of the key vulnerability. :gomer:

oc

The bird was sent by the future to save us all? :D

Sean Malone

11-06-09, 10:01 PM

Sounds crazy to me. They designed a billion dollar collider that can be taken out by a dive bombing bird. No wonder we're ahead of them.

Indy

11-07-09, 01:48 AM

You gotta be kidding me.

This is the sort of thing to make me paranoid enough to believe the time travel excuse for why it won't work. :gomer:

Steve99

11-10-09, 02:55 PM

Sounds crazy to me. They designed a billion dollar collider that can be taken out by a dive bombing bird. No wonder we're ahead of them.

But did the bird have to fly straight down a trench in order to hit the exhaust port?

TravelGal

11-10-09, 04:14 PM

But did the bird have to fly straight down a trench in order to hit the exhaust port?

:rofl::rofl:

I realize now that it MUST be dangerous because Larry (from Numb3rs) is not willing to go. :eek:

oddlycalm

11-10-09, 06:06 PM

But did the bird have to fly straight down a trench in order to hit the exhaust port?
We don't know that, but if it did, I see a movie deal in this. :D

Brilliant job by the future folks. What could be more stealth in populated Europe than a bird with a piece of bread? :gomer:

pc

Elmo T

11-11-09, 10:50 AM

God hates the LHC? Or at least the Higgs particles?? :D

Another fringe theory holds that the LHC will never function properly because it is under "influence from the future," according to physicists Holger Bech Nielsen and Masao Ninomiya. They suggest in recent papers that no supercolliders that could produce the Higgs boson, an as-yet-unseen particle that would help answer fundamental questions about matter in the universe, will work because something in the future stops them.

This also explains the "negative miracle" of Congress canceling the Superconducting Supercollider project in Texas in 1993, Nielsen wrote in a paper on arXiv.org, a site where math and science scholars post academic papers.

"One could even almost say that we have a model for God," one who "hates the Higgs particles," Nielsen wrote.

Huge $10 billion collider resumes hunt for 'God particle' (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/11/lhc.large.hadron.collider.beam/index.html)

Elmo T

03-10-10, 07:08 AM

LHC to be shut down for a year to address safety concerns. But not being shut down until 2011.

they have taken the decision to run the machine for 18 to 24 months at half-maximum power before switching it off for a year to carry out improvements to the 27km tunnel. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8556621.stm)

Back running in time for 2012? Hmmmmmmmmmm..... ;)

Michaelhatesfans

03-10-10, 01:45 PM

The bird was sent by the future to save us all? :D

That's right. And he was followed closely by this guy,

http://botropolis.com/wp-content/uploads/termcat.jpg

Don Quixote

03-10-10, 02:37 PM

^^ Awesome.

Elmo T

03-30-10, 08:37 AM

We made it - for now, at least (http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-hadron-collider31-2010mar31,0,4393311.story)

It is safe to come back out...

http://i44.tinypic.com/ff3ex4.jpg

dando

03-30-10, 10:01 AM

I thought I felt a disturbance in The Force earlier today... :gomer:

-Kevin

04-01-10, 12:33 AM

.

http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/Scientist-Ask-Jump.jpg

SteveH

04-01-10, 08:51 AM

that is awesome :rofl:

Elmo T

04-01-10, 08:58 AM

I bet they are using that machine that goes "PING" as well. ;)

Sean Malone

04-01-10, 09:16 AM

Caught a blurb on the news yesterday that said the LHC scientists were looking to use the machine to prove the existence of a parallel universe. :eek:

Wild!

TravelGal

04-01-10, 01:48 PM

Caught a blurb on the news yesterday that said the LHC scientists were looking to use the machine to prove the existence of a parallel universe. :eek:

Wild!

The must be watching a Fringe marathon.

oddlycalm

04-01-10, 04:04 PM

Caught a blurb on the news yesterday that said the LHC scientists were looking to use the machine to prove the existence of a parallel universe. :eek:

Wild!
Sorta, theoretical physics hottie Lisa Randall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Randall) uses 5-dimensional warped geometry theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall-Sundrum_model) to explain why gravity is so weak relative other universal forces. If you're having trouble sleeping you might try a copy of her book Warped Passages ;)
(http://www.amazon.com/Warped-Passages-Unraveling-Mysteries-Dimensions/dp/B003A02WS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270151745&sr=1-1)
http://www.stressphobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/lisa-randall-3.jpg

Sean Malone

04-01-10, 04:24 PM

Sorta, theoretical physics hottie Lisa Randall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Randall) uses 5-dimensional warped geometry theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall-Sundrum_model) to explain why gravity is so weak relative other universal forces. If you're having trouble sleeping you might try a copy of her book Warped Passages ;)
(http://www.amazon.com/Warped-Passages-Unraveling-Mysteries-Dimensions/dp/B003A02WS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270151745&sr=1-1)
]

She's kinda hot. Does this mean we're one step closer to warp drives? Woot!:)

datachicane

04-01-10, 04:25 PM

04-01-10, 06:04 PM

Aw, it's not that bad.
You've read it?!? :eek:

Hmmmm. Where do you fit...

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z167/Great_WhiteSnark/Nerd_Dork_Geek_Venn_Diagram.jpg

oddlycalm

04-01-10, 08:02 PM

She's kinda hot.
Sure, everything is relative, but for a 47yr old theoretical physicist she clears the bar with ease... :D [stereotype/]

Aw, it's not that bad.
Again, it's all relative. "Warped Passages" is not what I'd call a real page turner. She needs a better editor IMO, but I can also see why getting one presents serious challenge. ;)

oc

emjaya

07-13-10, 07:38 PM

Wha...? They may have been beaten to it.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator and cost $US9 billion to build.
One of its tasks - aside from playing with protons - was to figure out how to produce the Higgs boson particle.

But it's thought the Tevatron, an ageing, bulking particle accelerator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, may have got there first.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/ageing-particle-accelerator-tevatron-may-have-found-higgs-boson-particle/story-e6frfro0-1225891257980

Insomniac

07-14-10, 12:31 PM

Wha...? They may have been beaten to it.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/ageing-particle-accelerator-tevatron-may-have-found-higgs-boson-particle/story-e6frfro0-1225891257980

I'm not surprised. The shutdown of the LHC for repairs really gave those guys a spark and they wanted to take that window and find the higgs boson particle first.

TrueBrit

07-14-10, 02:35 PM

Sure, everything is relative, but for a 47yr old theoretical physicist she clears the bar with ease... :D [stereotype/]oc

I'm sorry but that is just flat out :rofl: funny...

chop456

07-15-10, 04:16 AM

09-21-10, 06:33 PM

cool webcam.

One of the target caverns (http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html)

Don Quixote

09-21-10, 07:18 PM

cool webcam.

One of the target caverns (http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html)Run!!!!!!!!!!

09-21-10, 10:43 PM

A phototour, with some fairly lame commentary.

"here's some stuff, looks complicated" (http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/09/a-photo-tour-of-the-large-hadron-collider.ars)

KLang

11-18-10, 08:39 AM

'Warp Speed Mister Scott'

Anti-matter created (http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/antimatter-antihydrogen-particle-physics-101116.html)

I bet we can figure out how to make bombs with the stuff too. :cool::eek:

Indy

11-18-10, 10:07 AM

Who do you think is funding research into anti-matter? :rolleyes:

cameraman

11-18-10, 03:56 PM

I take it 38 antihydrogen atoms does not quite amount to a "powerful explosion" as the scientists & their building are still here.

oddlycalm

11-18-10, 05:13 PM

Who do you think is funding research into anti-matter? :rolleyes:
Dr. Emilio Lizardo ?
Red Lectroids from the eighth dimension ?
Buckaroo Banzai ?

I give up. Who ?

oc

KLang

11-18-10, 05:21 PM

I imagine there is some government money involved but I doubt weapons research is the motivation. My comment was a joke, and I read way to much Science Fiction. :D

Gnam

11-18-10, 06:26 PM

There is considerable skepticism within the physics community about the viability of antimatter weapons. According to an article on the website of the CERN laboratories, which produces antimatter on a regular basis, "There is no possibility to make antimatter bombs for the same reason you cannot use it to store energy: we can't accumulate enough of it at high enough density. (...) If we could assemble all the antimatter we've ever made at CERN and annihilate it with matter, we would have enough energy to light a single electric light bulb for a few minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_weapon

...so they're saying there's a chance! :gomer::thumbup:

Elmo T

03-19-11, 08:42 PM

I think they are getting bored with the fact that we are all still here.

Atom smasher could be used as time machine (http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/atom-smasher-could-be-used-as-time-machine)

In a 'long shot' theory, physicists propose that the world's largest atom smasher could be used as a time machine to send a special kind of matter backward in time.

Ankf00

09-22-11, 03:37 PM

ruh roh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15017484

Puzzling results from Cern, home of the LHC, have confounded physicists - because it appears subatomic particles have exceeded the speed of light.

Neutrinos sent through the ground from Cern toward the Gran Sasso laboratory 732km away seemed to show up a tiny fraction of a second early.

The result - which threatens to upend a century of physics - will be put online for scrutiny by other scientists.

In the meantime, the group says it is being very cautious about its claims.

"We tried to find all possible explanations for this," said report author Antonio Ereditato of the Opera collaboration.

"We wanted to find a mistake - trivial mistakes, more complicated mistakes, or nasty effects - and we didn't," he told BBC News.

"When you don't find anything, then you say 'Well, now I'm forced to go out and ask the community to scrutinise this.'"

....

i'm scurred.

Don Quixote

09-22-11, 03:42 PM

Warp 6 Captain Kirk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dando

09-22-11, 03:48 PM

ruh roh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15017484

i'm scurred.

Metric vs. Inglish? :gomer:

-Kevin

Ankf00

09-22-11, 03:54 PM

http://i54.tinypic.com/x5ui37.gif

Ankf00

09-23-11, 09:49 AM

Warp 6 Captain Kirk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/68Tiger/make-it-so.jpg

TravelGal

09-23-11, 10:05 AM

You physicists need a little excitement in your life every once in while.

Elmo T

09-23-11, 11:57 AM

http://i54.tinypic.com/x5ui37.gif

Adding to that list... UPDATE 2-"Faster than light" particles may be physics revolution (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/23/science-light-idUSL5E7KN33E20110923)

Jeff Forshaw, a professor of particle physics at Britain's Manchester University, told Reuters the results if confirmed would mean it would be possible in theory to "send information into the past". "In other words, time travel into the past would become possible...(though) that does not mean we'll be building time-machines anytime soon."

Sounds like their "long shot" theory from March may not be such a long shot.

SteveH

09-23-11, 12:42 PM

send information into the past

So there's still hope for me afterall. :gomer:

Ankf00

10-17-11, 11:36 AM

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27260/

The time of neutrino flight is harder to measure. The OPERA team says it can accurately gauge the instant when the neutrinos are created and the instant they are detected using clocks at each end.

But the tricky part is keeping the clocks at either end exactly synchronised. The team does this using GPS satellites, which each broadcast a highly accurate time signal from orbit some 20,000km overhead. That introduces a number of extra complications which the team has to take into account, such as the time of travel of the GPS signals to the ground.

But van Elburg says there is one effect that the OPERA team seems to have overlooked: the relativistic motion of the GPS clocks.

It's easy to think that the motion of the satellites is irrelevant. After all, the radio waves carrying the time signal must travel at the speed of light, regardless of the satellites' speed.

But there is an additional subtlety. Although the speed of light is does not depend on the the frame of reference, the time of flight does. In this case, there are two frames of reference: the experiment on the ground and the clocks in orbit. If these are moving relative to each other, then this needs to be factored in.

...

The OPERA team overlooks this because it thinks of the clocks as on the ground not in orbit.

How big is this effect? Van Elburg calculates that it should cause the neutrinos to arrive 32 nanoseconds early. But this must be doubled because the same error occurs at each end of the experiment. So the total correction is 64 nanoseconds, almost exactly what the OPERA team observes.

so, um, they may have failed to account for a physics 301 problem. "if train A is travelling east at 10 mph and train b is travelling west at 30mph, at what speed does a passenger on train b observe train A as travelling when the trains pass each other?

Napoleon

10-17-11, 12:22 PM

What is interesting about the article is how they measure when it is created and then detected on the other end. When I first heard of the whole issue I could not imagine how it was possible to measure such a thing. Surely it exceeded peoples physical ability to do so.

chop456

10-17-11, 12:37 PM

When I first heard of the whole issue I could not imagine how it was possible to measure such a thing. Surely it exceeded peoples physical ability to do so.

Sort of like the way the FIA was incapable of measuring Ferrari's barge boards in Malaysia.

racer2c

10-17-11, 01:11 PM

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27260/

so, um, they may have failed to account for a physics 301 problem. "if train A is travelling east at 10 mph and train b is travelling west at 30mph, at what speed does a passenger on train b observe train A as travelling when the trains pass each other?

Depends on how hot the passenger is. ;)

Ankf00

10-17-11, 01:13 PM

Sort of like the way the FIA was incapable of measuring Ferrari's barge boards in Malaysia.

rulers are complicated. they have like 6 sides, and the numbers are upside down and dont even go in the right order!

http://www.rciplot.com/images/scale.jpg

cameraman

10-17-11, 01:50 PM

rulers are complicated. they have like 6 sides, and the numbers are upside down and dont even go in the right order!

I've got one of those and my seven year old son grabbed it to try to do his 1st grade math homework. He was the picture of frustration trying to figure out what the heck the thing was about. :laugh:

Not all rulers are the same: lesson learned.