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A new discovery.
Strange particles shape-shift from one flavor to another
"Exotic particles called neutrinos have been caught in the act of shape-shifting, switching from one flavor to another, in a discovery that could help solve the mystery of antimatter. ... The discovery opens an intriguing avenue for studying antimatter, the strange cousin of matter that's mysteriously missing in the universe."
Why does this matter? ha ha. Here is the Telegraph UK:
"We need to look back to the start of the universe, 13.7 billion years ago, to explain why this is important. In the moments after the Big Bang, the universe – according to our understanding – consisted of equal parts matter and antimatter. If that is the case, we should expect that the two would annihilate each other, but they did not. Almost all the antimatter in the universe is long gone, but somehow, we were left with enough matter to create a working universe. That would make sense if there were some difference between antimatter and matter which meant that antimatter disappeared more readily. But it is a fundamental feature of modern physics, stretching back to Dirac's equations, that antimatter and matter are symmetrical. "Any hint of symmetry-breaking would require a serious rethink of our understanding of nature," says Prof Hangst. "But half of the universe has gone missing, so some kind of rethink is on the agenda." Indeed, the very fact of our existence is one of the greatest mysteries facing modern physics."
"A key goal of antimatter physics, then, is to find out what the asymmetry – or difference between matter and antimatter – is."
Yeah, but then the question of the shape-shifting muons becomes, HOW do the muons know WHEN to change? Mua ha ha! Or is that "Muon ha ha?!"
Strange particles shape-shift from one flavor to another
"Exotic particles called neutrinos have been caught in the act of shape-shifting, switching from one flavor to another, in a discovery that could help solve the mystery of antimatter. ... The discovery opens an intriguing avenue for studying antimatter, the strange cousin of matter that's mysteriously missing in the universe."
Why does this matter? ha ha. Here is the Telegraph UK:
"We need to look back to the start of the universe, 13.7 billion years ago, to explain why this is important. In the moments after the Big Bang, the universe – according to our understanding – consisted of equal parts matter and antimatter. If that is the case, we should expect that the two would annihilate each other, but they did not. Almost all the antimatter in the universe is long gone, but somehow, we were left with enough matter to create a working universe. That would make sense if there were some difference between antimatter and matter which meant that antimatter disappeared more readily. But it is a fundamental feature of modern physics, stretching back to Dirac's equations, that antimatter and matter are symmetrical. "Any hint of symmetry-breaking would require a serious rethink of our understanding of nature," says Prof Hangst. "But half of the universe has gone missing, so some kind of rethink is on the agenda." Indeed, the very fact of our existence is one of the greatest mysteries facing modern physics."
"A key goal of antimatter physics, then, is to find out what the asymmetry – or difference between matter and antimatter – is."
Yeah, but then the question of the shape-shifting muons becomes, HOW do the muons know WHEN to change? Mua ha ha! Or is that "Muon ha ha?!"
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