[ClearCase_guy]

“Cool the electrons to far below room temperature in certain types of solid materials, and these flighty particles gain mass, acting like much heavier particles."

I'm not a physicist.

Energy and mass have a pretty direct relationship, right? E=mc²?
If you cool the electrons, you are taking energy out of the system, right?
So how can the mass (which is basically energy) increase when you take energy out of the system?

[onedoug]

I’m no physicist either, but I’ve played one on TV.

Might this be some type of virtual process where energy borrowed must be repaid? This might help explain the wevelike behavior within the superconducting solid.

(Speaking of crystalography, you might find Robert Hazen’s “Genesis” interesting in its exploration too of minerals and their replication as a possible platform for abiogenesis. It’s one of the most interesting science books I think I’ve ever read.)

[James C. Bennett]

E = mc^2

Not the same E. The 'E' in this equation refers to energy released by converting mass (the 'm'). You basically cannot expect a mass change when you heat up a kilo of iron by 400 degrees C, but try and take a tiny milligram of the iron and convert that to energy by whatever means it takes to destroy that mass, and you will have that equation being valid.

[Moonman62]

So how can the mass (which is basically energy) increase when you take energy out of the system?

Notice how the article says they behave like they have more mass, not that they actually have more mass.

[UCANSEE2]

I'm not a physicist.

I'm not either. I hate exercise.

Energy and mass have a pretty direct relationship, right? E=mc2?

So they say. Even though there are 'violations' discovered all the time. 'Pretty direct' is probably about right.

If you cool the electrons, you are taking energy out of the system, right?

Well... maybe it's because cooling deprives the electrons of energy. If the electrons (like everything else on the planet) generate their own 'energy', then freezing them would limit their output. If they don't 'generate' their own 'energy' , where does it come from?

Regardless, we sure use a lot of energy to 'cool the electrons'. Seems like a mass loss on one end, and a mass gain on the other. Maybe that's how they balance the equation.

So how can the mass (which is basically energy) increase when you take energy out of the system?

Rather like saying that if you quit eating, you will get fat, isn't it?

My guess is that when you subject certain matter to extreme cold, it consumes a bunch of energy to produce a layer of fat, which causes it to 'slow down', so that the 'electron' can survive the blizzard. (I'm joking... maybe)

Either that or their observations are faulty. Why, wasn't it just this year that they discovered AN ERROR in the size of the PROTON???? Not that a tiny, tiny, miniscule error like that would make any difference in physics. : )