Scientists capture antimatter atoms in particle breakthrough

[Peach]

further research into the area could definitively prove theories on the origins of life / the universe itself

1) That would fall under mental masturbation

2) No, it can't. We cannot recreate under controlled conditions the 'beginning' of our own universe and subject the experiment to peer review. All we can do is continue to experiment and research and gather evidence supporting or refuting a given model. We cannot 'prove' these theories any more than we can scientifically 'prove' Abe Lincoln existed and sat at a given table on a given day.

I repeat: What real-world applications does this have? What, beyond mental masturbation and strange new philosophies, can we expect to get out of this research?

I'm not seeing why they're spending money on this given the current economic situation.

Wrong, absolutely wrong. Research, even when it costs too much, is a bargain. We never know where research into anything will lead. It was research in X-ray difraction in crystals that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA. An investigation into the odd properties of something call semi-conducting materials led, in less than a half century, to the revoltion in communication devices by which we are communicating.

Where will the investigations concerning anti-matter lead? Haven't the faintest. Nor does anyone else. But we do know that new knowledge has in the past led to great things.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." Charles Durell, director for the U.S. Patent Office- 1899.

Scientific American published an article in January 1905 that wondered why Santa Clause hadn't yet found out about the miraculous invention. In 1906 the Herald Tribune ran an article titled "Flyers or Liars?" It wasn't until Theodore Roosevelt ordered a demonstration in 1908 at Ft. Meyers that the Wrights were vindicated.

Sir William Preece, a famed British scientist, deserves a special place in the Scoffers' Hall of Fame if ever one is created. When Alexander Graham Bell approached him with his nutty invention, the telephone, Preece found it quite useless, stating: "England has plenty of small school boys to run messages." This same genius later proclaimed Thomas Edison's idea for an incandescent electric light "a completely idiotic idea."

The list goes on:

Inventions: Crazy Ideas that Don't Seem so Crazy Anymore - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

 

[konradv]

What real-world applications does this have? What, beyond mental masturbation and strange new philosophies, can we expect to get out of this research?

From the practical prespective the goal of nuclear physics is to develop a sustainable fusion reaction, resulting in nearly unlimited cheap energy. For more info go to:

ITER - the way to new energy OR

Department of Energy - Fusion

This gets us closer to that?

The more you know about sub-atomic particles the better. Containing plasma in a magnetic field is one of the major areas of fusion research.

 

[JimBowie1958]

What real-world applications does this have? What, beyond mental masturbation and strange new philosophies, can we expect to get out of this research?

From the practical prespective the goal of nuclear physics is to develop a sustainable fusion reaction, resulting in nearly unlimited cheap energy. For more info go to:

ITER - the way to new energy OR

Department of Energy - Fusion

Besides that, the knowledge itself is of almost infinite value. One never knows where this knowledge can be applied years even centuries from now.

Imaginary numbers and astronomical obsrevations are two examples.

Imaginary numbers were regarded by many as just a waste of time, or a hobby for mathematicians to play with of no real value. Then we found out that imaginary numbers can be used to exactly calculate various effects of an electrical circuit which has been invaluable to us today.

Astronomical observations began in the ancient world and were used most by astrologers to predict the future which sometimes worked for reasons entirely unrelated to astrology. After astrology was debunked in the West as a superstition, astronomer still continued making their measurements and developing theories to estimate astronomical events.

Later when navigators began to sail the open blue water oceans far from the sight of the coast, the measurements and theories and tables of astronomical positions were critical for the purposes of navigation.

So you cant judge the value of scientific research by the lame idea that if it doesnt pay off today then it is of no use. We are today living on technology that at one time or another was purely theoretical and of no apparent real world use at the time it was discovered.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Nothing really matters...

New twist in antimatter mystery
29 February 2012 - CDF was one of two multi-purpose experiments at the US Tevatron accelerator near Chicago

Physicists have taken a step forward in their efforts to understand why the Universe is dominated by matter, and not its shadowy opposite antimatter. A US experiment has confirmed previous findings that hinted at new phenomena outside our understanding of physics. The results show that certain matter particles decay differently from their antimatter counterparts. Such differences could potentially help explain why there is so much more matter in the cosmos than antimatter. The findings from scientists working on the CDF experiment have been presented at a particle physics meeting in La Thuile, Italy.

CDF was one of two multi-purpose experiments at the now-defunct Tevatron particle smasher in Illinois. Physicists think the intense heat of the Big Bang should have forged equal amounts of matter and its "mirror image" antimatter. Yet today we live in a Universe composed overwhelmingly of matter. Antimatter is relatively uncommon, being produced at particle accelerators, in nuclear reactions or by cosmic rays. Getting to the bottom of where all this antimatter went remains one of the great endeavours of particle physics. The latest results support findings from the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, which were announced in November 2011.

Both CDF and LHCb have been looking at the process by which sub-atomic particles called D-mesons decay - or transform - into other ones. For example, D mesons are made up of particles known as charm quarks, and can decay into kaons and pions. Our best understanding of physics so far, known as the Standard Model, suggests the complicated cascades of decay of D-mesons into other particles should be very nearly the same - within less than 0.1% - as a similar chain of antimatter decays. But the LHCb team reported a difference of about 0.8%, and the team from CDF have now presented data showing a difference of 0.62%.

More BBC News - New twist in antimatter mystery

I am not pretending to understand all of this, but one question: wouldnt these D mesons be composed of anti-quarks? If so how then does it help to solve the difficulty here?

Also note from your article:

On

e other experiment has shown a significant "asymmetry" of matter over antimatter. In June 2010, physicists working on the Tevatron's DZero experiment reported seeing a 1% difference in the production of pairs of muon (matter) particles and pairs of anti-muons (antimatter).

The Tevatron was shut down in September last year, after the American government rejected a proposal to fund it until 2014, but scientists continue to analyse data gathered up to the end of operations.

In a welfare state, science loses budget battles to the patronage network that the politicians need to remain in office.

 

[JimBowie1958]

further research into the area could definitively prove theories on the origins of life / the universe itself

1) That would fall under mental masturbation

2) No, it can't. We cannot recreate under controlled conditions the 'beginning' of our own universe and subject the experiment to peer review. All we can do is continue to experiment and research and gather evidence supporting or refuting a given model. We cannot 'prove' these theories any more than we can scientifically 'prove' Abe Lincoln existed and sat at a given table on a given day.

I repeat: What real-world applications does this have? What, beyond mental masturbation and strange new philosophies, can we expect to get out of this research?

I'm not seeing why they're spending money on this given the current economic situation.

Wrong, absolutely wrong. Research, even when it costs too much, is a bargain. We never know where research into anything will lead. It was research in X-ray difraction in crystals that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA. An investigation into the odd properties of something call semi-conducting materials led, in less than a half century, to the revoltion in communication devices by which we are communicating.

Where will the investigations concerning anti-matter lead? Haven't the faintest. Nor does anyone else. But we do know that new knowledge has in the past led to great things.

Excellent post. Sorry I didnt see it before I spent five minutes responding earlier.

 

[CaughtInTheMid]

What real-world applications does this have? What, beyond mental masturbation and strange new philosophies, can we expect to get out of this research?

wow

earth still flat out there?