Neutrino shape-shift points to new physics

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23909-neutrino-shapeshift-points-to-new-physics.html#.UenaklS4Y_Q.hackernews

by cab1729 • 13 years ago

50 8 13 years ago

sillysaurus2• 13 years ago

Physics is just mindblowing. When I think deeply about the fact that things that are moving will keep on moving forever unless a force acts on them, and the fact that no one knows why it's true (and that the question may not even have any meaning), and that my body is nothing more than a very advanced method of propagating genetics, then... well, it's just a lot of fun to think about!

The fact that there are mysteries that no life will ever have answers to is quite humbling.

If you find physics interesting, then you'll love these Feynman lectures. Feynman is so good at explaining these concepts that you don't even need any formal training to understand them.

Lecture 1: The Law of Gravitation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3mhkYbznBk&list=PL8976CAAD2A...

Lecture 2: The Relation of Mathematics to Physics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd0xTfdt6qw&list=UUR3AOHJ5xJv...

Lecture 3: The Great Conservation Principles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_IfV9fkBhk&list=UUR3AOHJ5xJv...

Lecture 4: Symmetry in Physical Law http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ6o1cDxV7o&list=UUR3AOHJ5xJv...

Lecture 5: The Distinction of Past and Future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ6o1cDxV7o&list=UUR3AOHJ5xJv...

Lecture 6: Probability and Uncertainty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0HSFj8Imc

ssivark• 13 years ago

I suppose those are the Messenger lectures he gave at Cornell?

fjarlq• 13 years ago

Yes, but sillysaurus omitted one:

Lecture 7: Seeking New Laws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIN_-Flswy0

gizmo686• 13 years ago

One of my most rewording experience in high-school physics was tracing the history of our understanding the speed of light. Specifically, the series of experiments and explanations we went through to arrive at the conclusion that it is constant relative to the observer.

I wont recount the specifics for fear of making a mistake, but the big takeaway was that the process was not one of finding the correct answer nearly as much as it was finding that our (then) current answer was incorrect. All this tells us of our current understanding is that it hasn't been disproven yet.

morsch• 13 years ago

Anybody know if they're available in better quality? I realize the source material isn't exactly 4k quality but maybe there's a better encode.

sillysaurus2• 13 years ago

Whoops. Lecture 5's link is incorrect. It points to lecture 4. Here's the correct one:

Lecture 5: The Distinction of Past and Future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozjb6kQvBpc

And thanks to fjarlk for pointing out that I accidentally omitted Part 7!

Lecture 7: Seeking New Laws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIN_-Flswy0

pbhjpbhj• 13 years ago

I'm confused. Neutrino oscillation has already been confirmed in 1998 IIRC. What is the novelty in this specific result? Not that confirmation isn't important at all, it's just the wording suggests a new result rather than a confirmation of a known result.

Presumably it's that a known muon-neutrino flux produced a higher than expected e-neutrino detection.

Given the difficulty with detecting weakly interacting particles that flavour shift I'd have thought far more data would need gathering to demonstrate "subtle differences".

gus_massa• 13 years ago

I'm confused too. If I understand correctly it's the first time that the neutrino oscillation is measured in a muon-neutrino ray. As far as I know it's a difficult task, but the result is totally expected. The "new physics" claim looks like a link-bait.

Neutrino shape-shift points to new physics

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