Physicists Discover "Violation of a Fundamental Symmetry of the Universe"

i09.com ^ | November 3, 2010 | Staff

[hinckley buzzard]

The title is a bit misleading. It has long been hypothesized that an "asymmetry" in the universe is what allows it to exist in anything like the present form. The math apparently requires this, but perhaps the physical explanation/verification has been long in coming.

[ontap]

You took the words right out of my mouth!!

[Mom MD]

Every new discovery seems to throw their old theories out the window. lol.

Except evolution. They got that one perfect the first time and there is no possibility of being the slightest bit wrong. Do not touch the holy grail.

But you are right. Other than that, all theories are transient until better data is found.

[GeronL]

lol.

yes.

Global Warming too, they just need to work out the details of a computer model

[Agamemnon]

It's the asymmetry that gave rise to matter.

"The Comedian" name suits you well.

FReegards!

[Captain Steve]

You are referring to the First Law of thermodynamics, but it says the total of mass AND ENERGY in a closed system remains constant.

But according to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity (and our best science today), mass is merely one property time/space/energy/matter. All are interchangeable.

[allmost]

These “little neutral ones” seem to be multiplying. What else can they not detect?

[Aevery_Freeman]

Two days later this still makes me laugh. Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

Seems like a neutrino detector would be a surefire way to win a high school science fair — under these standards. ;’)

[evets]

Lol. It was an 'enlightening' experience. Thank you!

[blueplum]

sorry for the bad joke

this uneducated mind, who’s physics intel is limited to info learned some 40 years ago prior to ‘quarks’, is trying to understand, so, I went to the io9 article ‘The Undiscovered Particles on the Edge of Known Physics’, where I read, “sterile neutrinos... are nearly identical to neutrinos except they only interact through gravity”

in io9’s ‘The Ultimate Field Guide to Subatomic Particles” neutrinos are described as decayed neutrons, or “electron anti-neutrino”

So, are the physicists saying that it is interaction with the gravity of the SN that causes nutrinos to change to the (heavier) muons and taus, and loss of interaction that causes a reversal back to a (lighter) nutrino at a rate faster than expected? or is it the interaction with an ‘anti’ substance that changes a muon back to a nutrino? and, finally, how can an ‘anti’ be ‘serile’(neutral) ?