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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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To: BenLurkin
“Microbiologically speaking,
When I start churnin’, burnin’ and turnin’
I'll make your atoms move so fast
Expandin’ your molecules
Causing a friction fire
Burnin’ you on your neutron
Causing you to scream
“Hit me in the proton, BABY!”” Dr. Funkenstein by Parliament Funkadelic
21 posted on 04/15/2013 11:51:03 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: BenLurkin

The proton is not shrinking. Never did and never will. The proton could care less whether some scientist measures it right. Maybe this will teach the scientists some humility, but I doubt it.


22 posted on 04/15/2013 12:00:36 PM PDT by I want the USA back (Pi$$ed off yet?)
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To: count-your-change
“measurements are simply wrong.” Silly boy! This will require great gobs of money to clear up.

I don't understand the controversy. They changed the way they measured, and got a different answer.
It's like how inflation is calculated. They don't count energy or food. If they stopped counting housing, the economy would look even better.
There's a HUGE variable here. Because it is a HUGE variable, there's no proof the protons are smaller. They just got a different reading from a different type of test.

But, yeah. Someone is going to be hitting us taxpayers up for cash and probably get it. Who can say no to money if the universe dying? It's as big as the coming ice age...er....global warming - I mean climate change. Sheesh!

23 posted on 04/15/2013 12:00:36 PM PDT by concerned about politics ("Get thee behind me, Liberal")
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To: BenLurkin

The Proton has been Sequestered by the Obasama.


24 posted on 04/15/2013 12:00:38 PM PDT by swamprebel (a Constitution once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.)
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To: BenLurkin

The proton’s football team was a little taken aback by the news that they are a little smaller. The coach was asked whether his team could still place first in the particle league.

“Oh, yeah, everyone on the team is still very positive.” he said.


25 posted on 04/15/2013 12:01:28 PM PDT by Our man in washington
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To: BenLurkin

“...they need more data to understand...”

Interpret that to mean “...they need more FUNDING to understand...”


26 posted on 04/15/2013 12:01:34 PM PDT by SgtHooper (The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.)
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To: CMB_polarization

ask Victoria’s Secret?


27 posted on 04/15/2013 12:06:07 PM PDT by faithhopecharity (()
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To: BenLurkin

Honey I shrunk the protons!


28 posted on 04/15/2013 12:08:40 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper (99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999)
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To: BenLurkin

A neutron walks into a bar and asks “how much for a beer?”

The bartender says “For you? No charge.”

Two atoms walk out of a bar - one says “Hey, I think I lost an electron in there?”.

The other says “Are you sure?”

And he says “I’m positive!”.


29 posted on 04/15/2013 12:09:46 PM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: swamprebel

They should name it “GDP”.


30 posted on 04/15/2013 12:14:19 PM PDT by TurboZamboni (Marx smelled bad & lived with his parents most his life.)
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To: BenLurkin

With allowances for the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, one hopes.


31 posted on 04/15/2013 12:36:02 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin

You’ll probably have to buy new pants anyway. I’ve heard those pants protons shrink fastest of all.


32 posted on 04/15/2013 1:00:26 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: BenLurkin

Well, through catalytic means resulting in the emission of ultraviolet light, the electron of the hydrogen atom can be reduced to a considerably lower ground state and yet remain chemically active, yielding many novel compounds. So should it surprise us that what was formerly believed to be size of a proton could, through mechanisms not yet observed or even hypothesized, be reduced in size?


33 posted on 04/15/2013 1:57:43 PM PDT by aruanan
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To: concerned about politics

Professors are expected tp produce and that means publishing and bringing money into their institutions. Here we thought our protons were doing just fine and feeling good and now they’re shrinking away, we’re told.

Should you buy or sell your protons or buy the stock? or maybe proton futures? Stay tuned and keep a scientist off the dole.


34 posted on 04/15/2013 2:13:05 PM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough)
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To: posterchild
I was just sorta making a joke. I had the proton therapy for prostate cancer in Houston and all seems well so far. I chose that over radiation because it is aimed directly into the tumor. Radiation treats the whole abdomen and radiates everything like the rectum, bladder, and everything in between. The doctor explained that he could even regulate how deep the protons penetrated by varying the voltage on the gun. They even used large blocks of plastic to block the unwanted protons in the beam from hitting anything but the tumor. All of the energy was released in the prostate and minimal damage was done to the surrounding tissue.

I highly recommend this procedure to anyone you know that gets prostate and other cancers. Many of the people I received treatment with were told there was nothing they could do, so go home and die. A friend I made there had throat cancer and was given 6 months to live. He is completely cured now and is home back at work. It is an excellent treatment for contained tumors that can be "aimed" at. tumors that have spread usually have to have chemo and radiation.

The proton beam can even destroy tumors of the eye without losing your sight. They have a whole wing for prostate treatment, but many more are treated for brain and other locations. I wept almost daily for the children that were treated there with brain cancer. Many had already been cut on other places and then sent home to die. I consider myself an unpaid proton booster for MD Anderson. If you have to have cancer, get it treated there. They were all wonderful to me. BTW, many high dollar people were there also. We had people from Hollywood to China to Saudi Arabia getting treatment there. If people with money chose MD Anderson, that was a pretty good endorsement for me. There was even a personal friend of GW Bush there who got treatment. The doctor that pretty much wrote the software treatment dosages was my personal doctor.

35 posted on 04/15/2013 2:55:00 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin
Good news! I have some pants. that are getting pretty tight.

Bad news.....they don't make pants large enough to fit you.

36 posted on 04/15/2013 2:56:53 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (This space for rent)
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To: Hot Tabasco

If I have to go around without any pants it ain’t gonna be pretty.


37 posted on 04/15/2013 4:01:12 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Obama is the Chicken Little of politics)
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To: Lurkina.n.Learnin
If I have to go around without any pants it ain’t gonna be pretty.

Don't be so hard on yourself, let us be the judge.........

38 posted on 04/15/2013 4:05:57 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (This space for rent)
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To: Hot Tabasco

If you told me to haul a&$ I would have make two trips.


39 posted on 04/15/2013 4:12:47 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Obama is the Chicken Little of politics)
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To: BenLurkin; 6SJ7; AdmSmith; AFPhys; Arkinsaw; allmost; aristotleman; autumnraine; Beowulf; ...

Thanks BenLurkin. Could have sworn we'd had a topic about this, found nothin'.

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40 posted on 04/15/2013 7:35:57 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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