Dude! |
Posted on 11/09/2005 5:22:48 PM PST by Lancey Howard
Red faces, and empty pockets, at the bookies
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 07 Nov 2005
Scientists working on the detection of gravity waves could be in line for huge payouts from bookmakers Ladbrokes.
Ladbrokes began promoting bets on scientific discoveries last summer, and offered 500:1 on gravity waves not being detected before 2010.
After scientists flocked to the betting shops the odds were cut to 5:1 and Ladbrokes closed the book a few weeks later when odds had fallen further.
Ladbrokes spokesman Karl Williams said: "We've been blinded by science. We're looking at a £150,000 loss if the experiments are successful.
"But win, lose or draw we'll carry on making odds for scientific discoveries. We never close a book on a popular betting area."
Williams explained that individual bets were limited to £25, so the maximum payout will be £12,500. British scientists will be getting the bulk of the money.
Scientists involved in the GEO600 project to detect gravitational waves now say that it is likely they will have proof by the middle of next year.
The team, including scientists from Cardiff and Glasgow universities, started the first stage of the project this weekend, and by the end of the year four Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detectors will be working in concert to find the phenomenon.
Professor Jim Hough, from Glasgow University, a key member of the GEO600 team, told vnunet.com that he had managed to get a bet on.
Gravitational waves are a key plank of the general theory of relativity and have the potential to revolutionise astronomy.
Einstein postulated that as mass accelerates it forces the space time continuum to stretch, creating gravitational waves that can be sensed by their action on any particles.
But unlike light and radio waves gravitational disturbances do not degrade over distance or time, giving astronomers a much clearer way to see the universe around them.
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Wow!
Maybe this explains all the "gravity" stories lately.
Scientific progress is now bookie driven.
Gravitas bump.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Personally, I have never been able to accept the existance of gravity waves. Looks like I may have to change.
It's all so weird.
(( ping ))
Here's a story from a few days ago about the detector they are talking about. Still good odds at 5:1 to bet against a verified detection.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4415722.stm
Imagine putting $2,000 on this early on if you had inside info!
Of course, you'd have to get around the individual betting limit. No big problem there.
Hello, this is an incorrect statement I think.
Thanks for the ping!
I want a gravity waveboard.
Is there an authority to confirm the results of the experiment? What if the experimenters are wrong that gravity waves have been detected? What if the results are disputed?
Science is money driven. Hardly any research gets done that is not supported by a grant. Somebody has to pay the bills. Think of this as a bet-driven grant
Dude! |
"about the detector"
Thanks much. I find myself as skeptical as ever!
"Still good odds at 5:1 to bet against a verified detection."
I don't think so. Book is closed.
"After scientists flocked to the betting shops the odds were cut to 5:1 and Ladbrokes closed the book a few weeks later when odds had fallen further."
Isn't that what the Silver Surfer used?
I believe so. I like the mirror finish body suit also, but prefer something a bit more definitive than the 'Ken Doll' lower half.
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