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Mysteriously Shrinking Proton Continues to Puzzle Physicists
LiveScience ^ | 13 April 2013 Time: 02:35 PM ET | Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer

Posted on 04/15/2013 11:09:10 AM PDT by BenLurkin

DENVER — The size of a proton, long thought to be well-understood, may remain a mystery for a while longer, according to physicists.

Speaking today (April 13) at the April meeting of the American Physical Society, researchers said they need more data to understand why new measurements of proton size don't match old ones.

"The discrepancy is rather severe," said Randolf Pohl, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. The question, Pohl and his colleagues said, is whether the explanation is a boring one — someone messed up the measurements — or something that will generate new physics theories.

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: proton; randolfpohl; stringtheory
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1 posted on 04/15/2013 11:09:10 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Bush’s Fault


2 posted on 04/15/2013 11:11:27 AM PDT by Mr. K (There are lies, damned lies, statistics, and democrat talking points.)
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To: BenLurkin

global warming is the cause


3 posted on 04/15/2013 11:12:18 AM PDT by Londo Molari
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To: BenLurkin

They thought the universe was expanding. And now the truth comes out....we’ve been shrinking.


4 posted on 04/15/2013 11:13:10 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: BenLurkin
Didn't George Castanza have this problem? Of course there is nothing wrong with that.

5.56mm

5 posted on 04/15/2013 11:14:07 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: BenLurkin

Both protons and mesons are composed of quarks (3 in a proton, 2 in a meson), so that makes them lumpy, not spherical. How do you measure the radius of a lump?


6 posted on 04/15/2013 11:16:39 AM PDT by CMB_polarization
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To: DannyTN

Good news! I have some pants. that are getting pretty tight.


7 posted on 04/15/2013 11:16:41 AM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Obama is the Chicken Little of politics)
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To: BenLurkin
From the Carolyn Arends song, "Reaching"

...the more we learn
the more we know
we don't know anything

8 posted on 04/15/2013 11:17:47 AM PDT by gov_bean_ counter (Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,)
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To: BenLurkin

So funny..we all think of Costanza...


9 posted on 04/15/2013 11:25:12 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: BenLurkin

The universe is winding down. Protons have no choice but to diminish. It is all Obama’s fault. Obama not only diminishes America, he diminishes the universe itself. And so it will be until a real natural born American becomes president of the US and we are exceptional once again. Then the universe will expand and the proton will gain weight.


10 posted on 04/15/2013 11:26:53 AM PDT by Rapscallion (The opposite of justice is charity.)
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To: BenLurkin

Man-Made Global Warming.


11 posted on 04/15/2013 11:28:45 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: BenLurkin
Hmmm.....Is their shape being manipulated by movement, i.e.,like shaking down a bag of sugar?

What's in a proton?

I know nothing. This is a confirmation.

12 posted on 04/15/2013 11:30:02 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: BenLurkin

These guys are a bunch of quacks/quarks....whatever...


13 posted on 04/15/2013 11:32:18 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: BenLurkin

It IS shrinking but the price stays the same and the manufacturer hopes you won’t notice!


14 posted on 04/15/2013 11:35:18 AM PDT by posterchild
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To: CMB_polarization
Both protons and mesons are composed of quarks (3 in a proton, 2 in a meson), so that makes them lumpy, not spherical.

At that scale of distance you can't talk about the location of a quark but only the probability of its being in any given location. The probability distribution of quarks in a proton in its ground state is spherical.

15 posted on 04/15/2013 11:42:32 AM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies ("The Lord has removed His judgments against you" - Zep. 3:15)
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To: BenLurkin

You guys are making fun of this article, but for me, it could be a matter of life and death. I just had a cancer treatment using protons as bullets. If the protons they used are bigger than they thought, they may have killed more tissue than they wanted to. It’s a lot different to be shot with a .22LR than a .45HP. Right now, I think they used those .45 Talon type protons. I hurt all over.


16 posted on 04/15/2013 11:43:22 AM PDT by chuckles
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To: chuckles

Prayers for your quick recovery.

In such medical applications it’s not the size of the protons that matters though, it’s how they are used.


17 posted on 04/15/2013 11:45:42 AM PDT by posterchild
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To: BenLurkin

“measurements are simply wrong.” Silly boy! This will require great gobs of money to clear up.


18 posted on 04/15/2013 11:47:25 AM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough)
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To: posterchild
it’s not the size of the protons that matters though, it’s how they are used.

That's what the ladies say ... until they see my protons.

19 posted on 04/15/2013 11:47:38 AM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies ("The Lord has removed His judgments against you" - Zep. 3:15)
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To: BenLurkin

20 posted on 04/15/2013 11:48:57 AM PDT by JRios1968 (I'm guttery and trashy, with a hint of lemon. - Laz)
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