They could have went for something more intellectual
Muon orbits may defy main physics theory
By measuring a magnetic trait of electronlike muon particles, scientists have uncovered evidence of a possible crack in the prevailing theory of physics.
Short-lived muons race around this ring.
Brookhaven National Laboratory
For 30 years, the theory called the standard model has withstood all challenges to its predictions of the properties and interactions of elementary particles (SN: 7/1/95, p. 10). Despite the theory's successes, physicists have long suspected that it is an incomplete picture of the subatomic world.
In the dogma-rocking experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., an international team of researchers detected a minuscule deviation from the standard model's prediction for the muon's magnetic strength. The findings were announced during a colloquium at the lab on Feb. 8.
Research team member James P. Miller of Boston University says the difference between the standard model's prediction and the new measurement is akin to a pair of kilometer-long strings differing by the length of a bacterium.
Nonetheless, says research leader Vernon W. Hughes of Yale University, "any deviation indicates either there is something missing in the experiment or in the standard theory. . . . One possible explanation is that the deviation indicates some new physics."
Although a cousin to the electron, the muon is about 200 times as heavy. Accelerators and cosmic-ray collisions produce muons, but the particles quickly decay. That makes muons rare in nature.
Muons possess a quantum mechanical property called spin, analogous to the twirling of a top. Because of this trait, muons behave like tiny bar magnets. Their spin also makes them into minute gyroscopes, responding to upward or downward forces by swinging the axes of spin around horizontally.
To measure muon properties, the researchers at Brookhaven fired an intense muon beam into an extraordinarily uniform magnetic field. Because muons are electrically charged, the field made them travel in a circle. As speeding muons entered the magnetic field, the axes of their spins had initially pointed in the direction of the particles' overall motion. These axes then veered away from dead ahead. In fact, during every 29 muon orbits around the accelerator, the particles' spin axes swept through 360°.
A quantum phenomenon causes this precession, which is related to the muon's magnetic strength, physicists say. As the muons circle the accelerator, they repeatedly transform into heavier, so-called virtual particles, and back again. This cycling influences measurements of the muon, so the results differ from those expected if the muon remained stable throughout.
The standard model predicts the influences of known virtual particles on the muon's magnetic strength. Indeed, in the late 1970s, experimenters found a value of the muon's magnetic strength close to the theoretical prediction. The Brookhaven team has redone the measurement with six times the precision. The result "is not the value that we think it would be based on the particles we know and the forces as we understand them," Miller says.
So far, the researchers have evaluated magnetic measurements of 1 billion muons. Until they can analyze the remaining 4 billion muon measurements in their raw data, they can't rule out that the deviation is a statistical fluke, they say. What's more, there's a slim chance that new data from experiments elsewhere will shift the standard model's theoretical prediction so that it actually matches the Brookhaven result.
"A certain amount of caution is certainly in order. It's a difficult experiment," comments Frank Wilczek of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Still, he says, the results are "exciting to everyone who's thinking about fundamental physics."
The experiment hints that something hitherto unknown may be out there. Many physicists regard the new finding as a possible sign of a theory known as supersymmetry, which predicts the existence of a partner particle for every known particle. Virtual forms of these particles could arise from the muons and explain the Brookhaven findings.
Gordon L. Kane of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and his colleagues have used the new results to calculate maximum masses for supersymmetric particles and have found some to be comparable to the masses of known particles. The size of the discrepancy in the Brookhaven experiments suggests that any new influence that may have shown itself has a mass similar to the masses of already known particles, he says.
Supersymmetry, however, is only one possible explanation for the discrepancy, Hughes cautions. In another, the muon may be composed of smaller subunits rather than being a fundamental particle, as now believed.
Newtonian Physics
Newtonian Physics theory is based on the late 17th century notion that the Universe is made up of solid objects which are attracted towards each other by a force called 'Gravity'. This theory was extended in the 19th century to include atoms as being the fundamental building blocks of nature. Newton's Laws of Motion (Newtonian Mechanics) successfully described the motions of planets, mechanical machines and fluids and this success gave rise to the notion that the laws of Newtonian Physics were basic laws of nature and as such were immutable. (i.e. fixed) According to Newtonian Physics, the universe is a huge mechanical system of solid objects based on absolute (fixed) time and three (3) dimensional space (i.e. height, length and width) and as such is linear. (uniform)
Newtonian physics (although interestingly enough, not Newton himself) maintained that everything in existence could be described "objectively" because all phenomena were strictly a result of the physical interactions of all its physical parts. (this includes chemistry) In over words, the universe was considered strictly deterministic and causal in nature. Newtonian Physics was formulated prior to the discovery of Electricity and Field Theory 1 (i.e. the theory pertaining to Energy/Matter interactions) or Nuclear Physics as postulated by Einstein in 1905 associated with his Special Theory of Relativity. 2 As such, Newtonian Physics cannot describe either the phenomena of electricity or nuclear reactions or the recent concepts of Quantum Mechanics 3 that in essence the physical universe is just a myriad of "tendencies to exist" associated with a vast interconnected energy field.
The concept of an infinite, multi-dimensional, interconnected Universe in which experimenters affect the results of their experiments by their mere presence (i.e. the observer effect) 4 is simply beyond the paradigm of Newtonian Physics.
Despite the fundamental flaws in the theory, the Newtonian view of the universe is embraced by most humans today as 'fact' simply because it describes most day-to-day physical phenomena so well and is based upon the notion of a fixed 'solid' Universe, something that most humans find very comforting. This has led most people to subconsciously view their world, including their physical bodies, as solid mechanical objects and that all phenomena, including human consciousness, are the direct result of the interactions of the so-called separate 'mechanical' parts comprising them.
As a result of their day to day experiences, most humans interpret reality in terms of Newtonian three (3) dimensional space and linear time, in which everything is perceived as being separate from everything else. As such they are always looking out from themselves for their experiences in life, including solace and comfort, and in the process lose sight of the deeper human experience that lies within , and the essential interconnectedness (ONENESS) and multi-dimensional, infinite nature of reality.
In other words, most people today embrace an incomplete and simplistic view of reality because that is all they are aware of, or can relate to directly, much in the same way that human societies 500 years ago related to a flat earth, and anyone who had the temerity to suggest otherwise was invariably burnt at the stake.
Based in part on Barbara Brennan's 'Hands of Light'
Education in Ancient Greece : A 5 page research paper
[Get eight friends to buy a term paper and receive any term paper from our model term paper catalog for free]
EDUCATION POLITICS
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The Bureaucracy Of Education : A 5 page paper discussing education in the U.S. since the 17th century and how it's become more and more bureacratic. No Bibliography. Edubea.wps
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Public School Issue -- School Uniforms : A 7 page research paper that provides an overview of the issues related to implementing public school uniform systems. The writer supports the thesis that there are considerable positive repercussions from this type of system. Bibliography lists 9 sources. Schoolu.wps dress code
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Uniforms For School? : A 4 page research paper that looks at the pro's and cons of initiating mandatory school uniform policies. It concludes with a brief discussion of the alternatives available. Bibliography lists 10 sources. Uniform.wps dress code
School Dress Code / Is It Effective in Chicago? : A 6 page examination of school dress codes. Outlines both the pros and cons of such codes and relates them to the existing situation in Chicago schools. Bibliography lists 4 sources. Chicode.wps
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A Short Demographic Analysis Pertaining To Education In Georgia :
A 6 page paper discussing some of the uses of demographic studies, but focusing more on a demographic analysis of regions of Georgia based on data collected in the 1990 census, comparing the striated regions of the state with each other according to state averages. Assuming that all other conditions remain the same, it is reasonable to forecast trends indicated by demographic studies. Georgia education data is compared to that of the US as a whole, but the paper points out the problems inherent in comparing some categories, such as "high school by grade" vs "did not complete high school." Bibliography lists 7 sources. Demograf.doc
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
Block Scheduling : An 11 page paper that supports the concept of block scheduling. This paper demonstrates that current literature, including the writings of educational theorists like Richard Rettig, Joseph Carroll, and Canady, support the transition of school systems from traditional scheduling to block scheduling, in recognition of the changing needs of students and educators. Bibliography lists 11 sources. Blocksch.wps
Block Scheduling and Music Instruction : A 14 page paper that considers the impact of block scheduling on music instruction. This paper demonstrates that there are specific issues for music teachers and ways in which these issues can be addressed within the process of block scheduling design. Bibliography with18 sources. Blockmus.wps
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bilingualism & Bilingual Education in the U.S. : An 8 page research paper on bilingual education, its historic controversy, methods, and outlook. Includes FREE outline; Bibliography lists 7 sources. Bilingua.wps
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The Importance Of Bilingual Education : A 6 page outline of the importance of bilingual education and how the availability of such bilingual programs affects a student?s ability to perform adequately in the academic world. Annotated bibliography lists 5 sources. Bilin.wps
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
__________________
Greg Oden: The future of the Blazers. The future of the NBA.
KMC Community Forums
Make the longest post ever.
Apr 6th, 2005 02:03 AM
