Results Are Still UnCERNtain

1. Scientists at CERN's LHC had reported clocking neutrinos at speeds faster than light.
2. Without radical changes to all of currently-understood physics, this simply didn't make sense.
3. CERN called for other labs to examine their experiment and help to find the flaws - if there were any.
4. CERN is now claiming to have found two separate problems in the setup of this experiment - one that would overstate the speed, and another that would understate it.

Bowing to pressure from Listener 43, I'm posting a quick response to all this brouhaha, in spite of the fact that nothing has really been determined at this point.
It still seems likely to me that this whole mis-measurement was foisted upon the scientific world as a distraction - a red herring, as it were - to keep other, competing labs from making any progress in their search for the Higgs boson. CERN has consistently seemed to mislead their "colleagues" (read competitors) as to the likelihood of finding the Higgs in various energy levels, and I, for one, see no reason not to think this is simply more of the same.

Still, time will tell (how's that for a punnish ending?)

Posted by Procrustes 17

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CERN Boosts Their Beams

CERN Boosts Their Beams

1. CERN plans to boost the energy of the beams at the LHC from 4.5 to 5.0 TeV per beam.
2. They anticipate that a year of experiments at these higher energies should let them find - or rule out - the Higgs boson.
3. They're still publicizing the 124-126 GeV range as the hiding place for the elusive particle.

It seems incredible that anyone is bothering to believe these folks anymore. Several months ago, confirmation of the Higgs boson was just around the corner, and now they're planning on a full year of higher energy experiments to either pin it down or rule it out.

In spite of these higher energies, they are still not running at the top levels for which the LHC was designed. Purportedly, this is to avoid "burning out the power interconnects" - something which one would expect to have been included in the design for those top power levels.

Again, it seems odd that the CERNers are telling everyone where they're looking, and at what energy levels they'll be running these experiments. Does anyone else smell fish? Red herring, to be precise?

This all make me wonder if maybe these LHC folks aren't quite the braniacs they represent themselves to be.
Posted by Procrustes 17

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Finally conCERNed About Facts
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The Russians Can't Get To Mars, So They'll Drill In The Ice On Earth

1. Russian space probes headed for Mars typically disappear into space or crash into the ocean.
2. Russia recently suffered just such a mishap with the Phobos-Grunt probe.
3. Russian scientists are now drilling into the deepest fresh water lake in Antarctica.
4. They anticipate finding new (to humanity at least) life-forms which have adapted to the high-pressure, low-light, high-oxygen environment.

Why are the Russians drilling in the same place that countless movie and TV producers have found ideal for an alien threat locale?
Why do they insist on drilling into a place where any life they encounter will either be harmed by its contact with Earth-normal conditions, or are likely to cause harm to Earth-normal life?
Why was there a long period of radio silence between the on-site Russian announcement of the impending breakthrough and resumed contact regarding the progress if the drilling?
What happened in those intervening days?

We will continue to monitor the situation, and report back here as more information is acquired.

Posted by Listener 43

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