Physicists Find Tiny Particle With No Charge, Very Low Mass And Sub-nanosecond Lifetime

ScienceDaily ^ | December 7, 2006

[spunkets]

Interesting. Finding this particle confirms the axion field exists. It's a field proposed to explain why CP symmetry is not observed to be broken in strong interactions. It closes another loose end in the Standard Model.

[Erasmus]

The headline says "sub-nanosecond" and the body of the article says ten to the minus 13th seconds. That's a tenth of a picosecond.

If the particle is flying at the speed of light, it'll only go 30 microns, or a 33rd of a millimeter, before it decays.

Interestingly, that's the same order of the thickess of a film emulsion, so by stacking films (with very thin backings), they can get a 3-D view of the process.

[alpo]

It's weight would equal the mass of an electron, a positron and whatever energy is given off when it decays. I think.....

[kinoxi]

You guessed in the wrong direction methinks.

[kinoxi]

Lighter...

[alpo]

"After they are produced axions rapidly decay into 2 electron pairs, an electron and a positron."

Seems like axions have enough mass to form the 2 particles and some energy is usually given off during decay. Unless the decomposition is endothermic but the decay apperars to go from high enery to lower energy particles. Thats why a super collider is needed to make them.

[kinoxi]

Where is your BS meter at right now concerning this article?

[kinoxi]

Here's a hint, electron and positrons are what is known as matter and antimatter. They annihilate each other exactly as Relativity predicts. They exist due to to Heisenberg's principle. Is your BS meter going off yet?

[kinoxi]

If you think your BS meter is going off from me please tell me.

[alpo]

Loudly

[kinoxi]

Which post# is the question. Electron - Positron pairs form/annihilate continuously.

[capitalist229]

Instead of trying to explain these phantoms as 'particles' they need to start treating us like adults and use modern terms like strings and branes.

We can handle the math.

BUMP

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark for later

[chilepepper]

are they going to name it after britney spears?

[AmishDude]

Once again, they use the language of metaphysical certainty while using the tools of rough guessing. I really don't mind that they flail like this, but wouldn't it be nice if they'd admit they're sailing without a map, not knowing what the hell they're doing, that any idiot who can tie his own shoes could do almost as well.

That's all I want.

[Coyoteman]

I really don't mind that they flail like this, but wouldn't it be nice if they'd admit they're sailing without a map, not knowing what the hell they're doing, that any idiot who can tie his own shoes could do almost as well.

Because that would be a lie.

[spunkets]

"Seems like axions have enough mass to form the 2 particles and some energy is usually given off during decay. Unless the decomposition is endothermic but the decay apperars to go from high enery to lower energy particles."

The mass of the axion is between 10^-3 and 10^-6 eV. That's very small. All the energy is contained essentially in the momentum of the particle.

E = p*c.

Thermodynamics isn't important here. The energy of the particle before the decay equals the E after the decay. The momentum of the tiny mass is turned into a particle pair. It's the reletivistic mass which is is important here. The speed is very close to the speed of light so the mass is 10⁶ to 10⁹ times higher.

[spunkets]

The energy of the pair is over 1.02 MeV.

[spunkets]

ooops... The mass is 10⁹ to 10¹² times higher.

[Ben Chad]

If physicists weren't obsessed with with the rediculously large or the rediculously small so much of the time, more people might show some interest in physics.

Spell check is your friend when criticizing academicians.