New/Cool Science Thread

[Mink - The Original]

In honor of a part of what made Lost so awesome, the part that made us think about science again and to stretch our minds, I'm starting this thread for new science stuff.

[Mink - The Original]

First up...

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity Proven

www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/09/29/theory-of-relativity-confirmed-on-cosmic-scales/

Albert Einstein may have been taking a metaphorical beating earlier this week with the possibility of faster-than-light neutrinos potentially wreaking havoc with the Special Theory of Relativity. But Relativity is more than just the idea that nothing with mass or information can travel faster than the speed of light. The General Theory of Relativity, which describes the workings of gravitation in the Universe, has just been verified on a grand scale.

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have just conducted an experiment to test Einstein’s theories on a grand scale – in galactic clusters. Galactic clusters are groups of thousands of galaxies, which are held together by their own gravity. According to predictions found in the General Theory of Relativity, the gravity from the galactic clusters should bend the light, causing a gravitational redshift – a change in the wavelength of the light. The researchers findings have been published in Nature, and the article can be found here.

In order to determine whether the gravity from galactic clusters was causing such a redshift in line with Einstein’s predictions, the researchers analyzed the light coming from 8,000 different galactic clusters. The mass of the galaxies were then determined, and the gravity and observed redshift perfectly aligned with what is predicted by General Relativity.

“It turned out that the theoretical calculations of the gravitational redshift based on the general theory of relativity was in complete agreement with the astronomical observations. Our analysis of observations of galaxy clusters show that the redshift of the light is proportionally offset in relation to the gravitational influence from the galaxy cluster’s gravity. In that way our observations confirm the theory of relativity”, explains [researcher] Radek Wojtak.

Even more interesting, these findings not only confirmed that General Relativity works on cosmic scales, but they also provide further support for the existence of dark matter, as the observed redshift was perfectly in keeping with the presence of dark matter. In particular, the observations were made with the assumptions of the Lambda Cold Dark Matter model, which posits the existence of both dark matter and dark energy. This model is the standard model for the current cosmology of the Big Bang, and the observed findings are in keeping with the Big Bang model of the universe, as well.

This is an incredibly impressive experiment when you consider the sheer scale of it. 8,000 clusters of thousands of galaxies each! And yet from here, we can figure out the laws that govern them. Science never fails to amaze me.

[sentinalnode]

Awesome. Also reading that faster-than-light-nutreno story,
www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/sep/22/faster-than-light-particles-neutrinos
it seems to say it doesn't necessarily wreak havoc with Einsteins theory, maybe a different constant, where light is a high fractional of this new constant? Dunno, it's over my head. Funny, I remember reading something about the attitude toward physics in the 1920's, and one camp (with Bohr?) maintaining all that was known about physics was was already discovered. The job of physicist was to prove what was already 'known."

[Smaug]

lol. My first glimpse of that forbes article I saw "redshirt" instead of "redshift."

Sentinalnode, I also remember reading that and wondering why some scientists feel that way when that is precisely the wrong attitude to have if you are a scientist.

[FullFrontalBuddha]

Redshirts have been proven to be expendable with repeated experimentation.
"Crewman Yul B. Dedsoon, join me on the away mission."

[Mink - The Original]

Sept 30, 2011 8:07:44 GMT -5 Smaug said:

lol. My first glimpse of that forbes article I saw "redshirt" instead of "redshift."

Sentinalnode, I also remember reading that and wondering why some scientists feel that way when that is precisely the wrong attitude to have if you are a scientist.

I disagree that it's the wrong attitude to have as a scientist. I think those scientists who seek further proof and evidence of already held beliefs/theories is just as important as theoretical scientists who are trying to find/prove completely new things. Like the proof of Einstein's theory, that's an already held belief.

[sentinalnode]

Sept 30, 2011 8:07:44 GMT -5 Smaug said:

lol. My first glimpse of that forbes article I saw "redshirt" instead of "redshift."

Sentinalnode, I also remember reading that and wondering why some scientists feel that way when that is precisely the wrong attitude to have if you are a scientist.

Hey Smaug. I think a big part was Einstein had come up with his theory, and so much had proven to fit in that there was a question of why seek further. Many scientists had their work validated by it. Also, the disruption of WW1 and it's costs (esp. in Germany)forced universities to tighten their belts. A lot of the scientists were academicians, and were also staking out their livelihood. On the other side were theoretical mathematicians and scientists who were seeing a not quite proven theory. I wish I could find a remembered article where a Brit or US scientist, as sort of an aside said something like "Y'know, all of the laws of the universe were created in the first few seconds of it's creation. If it happens again, there may be an entirely new set of laws that govern that universe" I am in awe of the mathematicians that chip away at this, at some of the problems that may take centuries to be solved.

[Smaug]

My point was that saying that everything has already been discovered, and not just about physics, but about anything, is not a healthy attitude. Going about proving what you already know/believe is great, but if you let that hold you back from trying new things or to cloud your judgment then it's not a good thing, in my book.

[FullFrontalBuddha]

And in an excellent instance of providence, an article about just this sort of discussion:

beinghuman.blogs.fi/2010/06/05/why-is-the-great-cathedral-of-science-already-grander-than-all-the-cathedrals-of-religions-8740289/

[sentinalnode]

Yes, of course....thought you were asking why. Just saying, in academia there was a lot of inertia to change, as odd as it would seem. Not just pre-war Europe either. With only so much research dollars to go around, sometimes ego trumps judgement. Look at how the idea of an asteroid hit starting the end of the dinosaurs was met. With scorn, even after they found the iridium and micro diamond layers.