Recent content by ranrod

Why did Stephen Hawking concede? He flat out said that it looks like the Higgs particle has been observed: http://www.inquisitr.com/269906/stephen-hawking-loses-100-bet-over-higgs-boson-discovery-video/

The 4.9 sigma refers to the data not being an error, but what are the odds that what was found is not a higgs boson? Didn't they say the spin is either 0 or 2? Does that mean a 50-50 chance it's NOT a higgs boson?

I tried searching through but didn't find this asked. If the spin of the particle detected at LHC comes back as 2, for instance, does it mean it's not a higgs boson? There are 5 higgs in supersymmetry, do they all have spin 0?

The OP's second post had an interesting question. When the universe was the size of a pin-head (or smaller), before expansion, shouldn't 'time' be frozen due to gravitational time dilation?

I'd just like to add a little perspective about the documentaries from a person who's not a scientist but someone who's been fascinated by it all his life. Those 'cheesy' documentaries really helped me to get excited and interested in science. Attracting new young minds to science is an...

That is a very depressing statement :cry: I would think if that "PURE CHANCE" you were talking about was 1 in 1,000 trillion, there would still be other planets with intelligent life. I guess that makes me optimistic :biggrin:

That statement may work locally, but bacteria (used in his example) can't see the giant asteroid that will wipe out the planet. Intelligence allows us to protect Earth, as well as make other homes elsewhere in the galaxy (though we may not be doing a good job at either). Besides, on what...

Thinking about this makes my head spin! From the 200 billion stars in the milky way, how many planets on average for each? From the ones with planets, how many are stable solar systems? From those, how many will remain relatively uninterrupted for billions of years (not only the central...

I apologize for the very simple question, but I find often the simplest questions are the ones not answered in books. If a free-floating proton collides with a free-floating neutron, do they get bound together by the strong nuclear force? Let's say it's a low-energy collision - both...

To what extent are virtual photons just a mathematical construct (or philosophical even), and to what extent are they supposed to represent what's really happening?

As I understand it photons govern the electromagnetic field. I don't have an intuitive knowledge of what that means. Does anyone have an explanation, link or reference for an intuitive interpretation? So if I rub a latex balloon against my clothes and then put it near my arm, I'll see all...

Maybe they don't have what we call emotions at all. My point was that because they are so advanced, they must not have any need for us or our resources. Anything being possible, it shows who's an optimist and who's a pessimist. I'd be ok sending signals out and seeing what comes our way (if...

I found Hawking's views very pessimistic too. If an alien civilization discovered the secrets of the universe to such extent as to be able to travel through the stars to distant planets and/or galaxies, at speeds close to the speed of light or beyond, what could we possibly have to offer? They...

That would go back to my original question. If light is affected by gravity, like an object with mass would, do you see light going at different speeds as the photons get pushed and pulled by different gravitational forces (such as massive stars or black holes)?

Thanks for your response. The examples you used were for objects with masses, do we think light has a mass?