New Type of Particle May Have Been Found 281
An anonymous reader writes "The LHC is out of commission, but the Tevatron collider at Fermilab is still chugging along, and may have just discovered a new type of particle that would signal new physics. New Scientist reports that the Tevatron's CDF detector has found muons that seem to have been created outside of the beam pipe that confines the protons and anti-protons being smashed together. The standard model can't explain the muons, and some speculate that 'an unknown particle with a lifetime of about 20 picoseconds was produced in the collision, traveled about 1 centimeter, through the side of the beam pipe, and then decayed into muons.' The hypothetical particle even seems to have the right mass to account for one theory of dark matter."
hardly news... (Score:3, Funny)
What do you think they make Peeps out of?!
That's no muon... (Score:4, Funny)
That's no muon, it's a space station!
I'll show myself out.
Peeps are made of (Score:5, Funny)
Chewons
Re:That's no muon... (Score:4, Funny)
please let it be the higgs boson (Score:5, Funny)
I wish it was the god particle, rendering the whole point of building the LHC an epic fail. It would just be deliciously ironic.
When asked about the new particle (Score:2, Funny)
When asked about the new particle during the first test, one of the instruments that was monitoring it malfunctioned. One of the resident scientists were quoted as saying:
"Overhead capacitors to one oh five percent. Uh, it's
probably not a problem, probably, but I'm showing a small discrepancy
in... well, no, it's well within acceptable bounds again. Sustaining
sequence."
teething problems (Score:1, Funny)
Fermilab Maternity Ward (Score:5, Funny)
Professor "look at those electrons, its hung like a horse"
Doctor "eer, sorry to disappoint your sir but that is just residual background noise"
Re:That's no muon... (Score:4, Funny)
It's a trap!
Re:When asked about the new particle (Score:1, Funny)
The little particle that could... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:More data, less hype at arxiv (Score:5, Funny)
maybe they could rename it (Score:5, Funny)
the deliciously ironic particle
Re:The little particle that could... (Score:5, Funny)
Poor little guy gets a single centimeter in 20 picoseconds-time and poofs into nothingness
I can already see the spam... "P4rticl3 not going far enough? Last longer! Natur4l P4rticle eh4ncement!"
Re:The little particle that could... (Score:2, Funny)
It's Not A New.... (Score:2, Funny)
subatomic particle.. its a Black Hoooo *FLASH*
I'm glad they found it (Score:5, Funny)
"Particle May Have Been Found "
It is really good - and amazing - that they found this particle. I've lost sub-atomic particles before, and the things are just so incredibly small that it is unbelievably difficult to find them again. The resulting migraine from eye-strain can be terrible.
Re:maybe they could rename it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I'm glad they found it (Score:2, Funny)
When you drop a subatomic particle just let it go, man. It's gone.
Re:More data, less hype at arxiv (Score:2, Funny)
Yep, I worked on the team. I'm the guy who put all the words spelled A-N-D in. I authored most of the name list consequently!
Re:I'm glad they found it (Score:3, Funny)
The worst part is when you look in the fridge, under the bed, on the tv stand... and the particle was in your pocket the whole time!
Why? (Score:2, Funny)
Considering that most comments are modded as "Funny", I wonder why serious articles like this get posted on Slashdot.
Re:maybe they could rename it (Score:4, Funny)
Should they need a new quantum number, irony would make a nice flavor [wikipedia.org].
Re:That's no muon... (Score:3, Funny)
That's no muon, it's a space station!
I felt a great disturbance in the force. As if millions of voices suddenly cried "Out!"
Re:That's no muon... (Score:4, Funny)
you guys are f#ckin dorks...
Oh yeah? Well, eh chu ta to you, too, pal!
Re:hardly news... (Score:4, Funny)
Sir, you have obviously never heard of the flux capacitor. Which is obviously the type of capacitor they blew.
Obviously.
Chewan source (Score:4, Funny)
I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Chewans are mined near here. The province is named after them.