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Antimatter discovery could launch new era of physics
duluthsuperior.com — The discovery that a bizarre particle travels between the real world of matter and the spooky realm of antimatter 3 trillion times a second may open the door to a new era of physics, Fermilab researchers announced Monday.
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- geuisteses, on 10/12/2007, -12/+47I wonder if I have an anti-matter twin. Someone just like me, except not only evil but also explosive if we ever met.
- ElFredo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+41And with a goatee as well
- illyriah, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23We all have twins in that alternate universe where coin flips are backwards.
I love you futurama. - AlmostEvil, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6@illyriah
I think you'll find there are only two universes, and the alternate me keeps lording it over me with his fancy cowboy hat. - loquax, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0I thought the whole evil twin thing involved tachyons and a transporter, or alternatively, a dermoid tumor on the brain...
- BigManOnCampus, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Your antimatter twin would be the opposite sex too, right? That'd mean that meeting them would be getting in touch with your feminine(masculine) side.
- hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -3/+42There is no "Antimatter realm". Antimatter occupies the same spatial realm as matter. The particle just transistions between having properties associated with matter and properties associated with antimater..
- Esstee, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6Phew!
And here I was concerned that we might actually have to consider alternate realities. Thanks for putting that into perspective for us. - DBCubix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Hmmm, time to start selling dilithium crystals on eBay.
- skyshock21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1So.....................
What does this mean?
- Esstee, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6Phew!
- swr1ght, on 10/12/2007, -22/+5You might want to consider the possibility that geusteses comments were a joke. Just putting that out there for you hack.
- thefalloftrey, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17hackwrench's comment has nothing to do with geuisteses comment. he was commenting on the article itself you hack
- drlha, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27"The spooky realm of anti-matter". Sometimes I wish digg had smileys, I could really use that "tosses eyes" one right now.
- Cl1mh4224rd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Well, this world *can* be spooky to a lot of people.
- trghpy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@Cl1mh4224rd
Why else do you think religion is popular?
- gizmo490, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2As if this is named the B sub s particle. I knew this antimatter stuff was all Bs.
- tont0r, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10Angels and Demons, here we come!
- mbthompson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26Now all we need are some dilithium crystals! I'll be in my ready room! (read the toilet)
- naio21, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Don't forget the inertial dumpers!
- grahamcase, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3dugg for the word, 'trillion'
- edzieba, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7Why? It's part of the normal progression of numerical nonclemature. Tens, hundereds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions and so on.
- Cl1mh4224rd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24edzieba wrote: "Why? It's part of the normal progression of numerical nonclemature."
I normally don't do this, but reading that made my brain hurt. The word is "nomenclature". - billymachine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Dugg for the word, 'nonclemature'
- ThePict, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
- Inbal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1That's very interesting, but it still doesn't mean you can take a specific term and change it to mean something completely different. (non-clem-at-ure?...)
- shitthisfook, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The Pict, that is *****. The only reason it works is because you're reading an entire SENTENCE in context. Can you do it with less common words by themselves?
Eeenxricpe
Sluaaiocs
Cbnaotoiimn
Relbmkaare
Bfafluo
Didn't ***** think so. - Cameleopard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2This is easy.
Eixnecepre a sicalauos cniomobitan of rblakarmee bfulafo.
experience
salacious
combination
remarkable
buffalo
http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/~mattd/Cmabrigde/
- boo5000, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1"It is a beautiful example of how, using increasingly sophisticated analysis, one can extract discovery from data from which much less was expected."
I can't help but think that this really means...
"..one can extract further discovery from data from which there is nothing more to discover."
I guess I just don't fully understand how such analysis can be made.- billyboobs34, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7...by thinking harder.
- Esstee, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I couldn't think of a better way to say it.
- billymachine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Well, Esstee, maybe you should try thinking a little harder...
- tropicflite, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0One thing's for sure, my anti-matter twin has a beard!
- Flipsen, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Will we be able to blow up the vatican? (Angels&Demons)
- NickDaedalus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4That's great news. I always get excited with new discoveries like this.
But I can't help thinking: "how much time before this is turned into a weapon 1000x more destructive than anything we have?".
And people think nuclear weapons are dangerous! wait for this one...- todhoops, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3(in fake scottish accent)
"When that much matter and anti-matter collide, there will be more than enough energy to destroy that ship" - NinjaBoy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Im waiting on an antimatter warp drive!
- todhoops, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3(in fake scottish accent)
- sciencebase, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Is it purely coincidence that this discovery is announced at a time when Fermilab faces an uncertain future?
http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2006/9/26/84921/6954- alphamerik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3My same thought, TA says 700 physicists from 61 institutions and 13 countries are involved in these experiments - I wonder how restrictive they are with their data policy. Trying to stay away from the tinfoil hat crowd tho, so I am chalking it up to coincidence.
- Mousse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Oh, what a coincidence! My gut intuition is telling me that this is a fillibuster for the preservation of the lab. Who cares about data verification and cohesiveness of an explanatory model? You don't need to be an expert to jump to conclusions here, right? Right?
For god's sake people, this is a f***ing research lab, constant discovery and revelation is the norm. This isn't politics you schmucks.
Here is an article about the same phenomena published half a year ago: http://www.physorg.com/news12049.html
Now how much further back should these findings have been made for you to stop doubting its legitimacy? - dmosher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Fermilab's future is anything but uncertain: it will continue to do high-energy particle physics for years to come, just maybe not an 18-mile, multi-billion dollar set of tubes 500 beneath the ground (The International Linear Collider). They will continue to do neutrino work and potentially dish out a less-costly, but still important, proposal for a particle collider pending on the acceptance of the bigger and badder ILC.
Why this "suspicious" discovery now? There has been an ever-growing push as of late for data collection there (I recently interned there) because cuts in funding could be looming in the coming years. This rush, incidently, fosters significant results more quickly. Nothing back-stabbing going on here. Just hundreds of physicists working 14-16 hour days. I would know because I've seen it first-hand :)
- misteral, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6FTA: The discovery comes at a time when the future of Fermilab, located near Batavia, Ill., is in doubt.
I'm calling Shenanigans! OK, so you have a lab whose future is questionable. Big decision, should we keep it open, should we close it. Has anyone has verified this finding. There's no reference to it, or journal publication anywhere in the article. - snached, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I have always wondered if somehow there are still equal amounts of anti-matter/matter still contained within the universe. What if they are simply located in separate regions of the Como's?
- Esstee, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I for one believe in alternate realities. It makes sense considering the common variables in life. But I don't know about this information though... It looks good on paper though.
- Moonpig, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Where did they get the anti-matter from? Can you buy it online.
- upyourego, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2That'll be the next big round of spam messages then. Forget Xanex, Viagra or Penis enlargments - buy your Anti-Matter here.
- venir, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Yeah I got an email the other day with subject "ANt1mAt+3R, V1A6r*, PaX1L, CHEAP!!11"
- Ascus, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1This sounds more like someone digging for a grant (academia's version of VC) more than any sound theory,
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Uh...is it really a good idea to be screwing around with antimatter in a populated area?
- FatMagic, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Let's be honest. Antimatter discovery COULD launch new era of physics... but it probably won't.
- slmcdee, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2I wonder do they have left handed coffee cups in realm of antimatter? Cause I can't find any here.
- banderbe, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Yippy skippy. Who cares?
- Frodo42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Actually, this *is* the anti-matter universe. Consider that the electron has negative charge, which is rather silly :)
It's the matter-universe that's gone missing...- billymachine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4No, the fact that electrons have negative charge is just a convention. Consider that protons have positive charge. These terms, "positive" and "negative," mean that the two particles balance each other out when present in equal quantities, not that they annihilate each other!
It could just as easily have happened that electrons were considered positive and protons negative. But in this universe, that's not the case.
- billymachine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4No, the fact that electrons have negative charge is just a convention. Consider that protons have positive charge. These terms, "positive" and "negative," mean that the two particles balance each other out when present in equal quantities, not that they annihilate each other!
- basselope, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm sure it's over my head, but I'd like to know more about just how sure the folks at Fermilab are that their conclusions are sound. I have a lot of respect for the research that goes on there, but lately I've been disappointed by a number of people and organizations I used to respect.
I doubt there's any attempt to deceive the public going on (with 700 people involved somebody would blab) but it would have to awfully tempting to sensationalize just a wee bit. - rocketryguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Here's the direct press relase, it's pretty clear that they had to document a high level of confidence, my ***** alarm is silent. Then again my experience with particle acceleration is one step above flicking boogers. Theory, yeah sure. Actual experience, not so much.
http://www.fnal.gov/pub/presspass/press_releases/CDF_meson.html - cantoral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Jacobo Konigsberg was born in Mexico, his position as co-spokesperson of CDF proves that the place of your birth does not stop you from achieving success; way to go Jacobo!
- tektalk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So is it that anti-matter is noexistent but still exist though not physically and that the relation to matter and anti-matter is zero though these particles bridge them so fast that its not like the particles were even there.
kinda like my sister dating boys - tetsuwan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you read the article carefully, you will notice that physicists regard a 300 fs period for the matter - antimatter oscillations to be long. I was also surprised how long it is. In 300 fs many things can happen on the atomic level, photons can be absorbed and reemitted, but here we are talking about interacting quarks! 300 fs is almost quasistable, lol.
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