The BᴀBᴀʀ experiment reported last friday a measurement of the relative probability that a B meson will disintegrate to the combination D meson + tau lepton + neutrino compared to D meson + electron (or mu lepton) + neutrino. In the standard model, the ratio of the two depends only on the ratio of the masses of the tau lepton and the other two leptons (e and mu). What was found was that the standard model underestimates this rate by an amount which is larger than 3 times the uncertainty in the measurement.
If this excess over the standard model survives closer scrutiny by Belle (BᴀBᴀʀ’s competitor/sister experiment) in their dataset, it would be intriguing evidence for physics beyond the standard model, though the paper rules out (at 95% confidence) the first culprit one would expect (the extension of the standard model including an extra set of higgs-like bosons with electric charge).
In which SFWA President John Scalzi and I battle with Bradbury Awards for the cameras.
You can see Jo Walton beaming in the background because she just won a Nebula Award for her novel AMONG OTHERS and even the sight of Mr Scalzi and I letting the side down like that could not take the smile from her face.
Is there any issue more important this election year than restoring civility to politics?
Yes. The answer is EVERY ISSUE.
The idea that political discourse, particularly in an election year, was EVER civil is the most delusional nostalgia.
That is all.
Sergio Cittolin, a scientist working on the Large Hadron Collider, combined his two passions of art and science to create a series of incredible drawings of various elements of the LHC, in the style of Leonardo da Vinci.
Don’t forget to take the time to see his other beautiful drawings of the LHC! They’re definitely worth having a look.
Credit: CERN/Sergio Cittolin
I was about to say “How have I not seen these, they’re amazing”, then I realised it was CMS xD
Jokes aside, pretty cool :)I want prints of these for my wall!
Oh wow! These are just fantastic
Holy Balls, this is hilarious. My friend Joel witnessed a disastrous first date, and twittered the whole thing.
(via HijiNKS ENSUE – A Geek Comic - Starbucks DateWreck Live Tweet)
A lot of partisan screaming today, but here’s something we can all agree on: Yvonne Craig as Batgirl #OneAmerica
Can’t argue with that
When conditions are just right, the low pressure at the center of a wingtip vortex can drop the local temperature below the dew point, causing condensation to form. Here vortices are visible extending from the tips of the propellers in addition to the wingtip. Because of the spinning of the propeller and the forward motion of the airplane, the prop vortices extend backwards in a twisted spiral that will quickly break down into turbulence. The same behavior can be observed with helicopter blades. (Photo credit: benurs)
Beautiful!
