'weird' particles

ButcherOfNog

no, they don't go back in time.

the real interesting stuff here is that they do travel 'faster than light'. could they in some way be used as a propulsion system for space travel and/or communication over the vast distances of space?

thats the real interesting stuff

--Kaiser--

Actually theres 3 types of particles, those that travel faster than light, those that travel at light speed, and those that travel at faster than light speed.

All that stuff you said about 'going back in time' is pretty much rubbish.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

There is the theoretical possibility of particles that travel back through time, but that is not what the latest research refers to. I think you've got confused between the "c-plus" particles currently under study, and the *theoretical concept* that is the *tachyon*. Tachyons are theoretical particles that travel backwards through time. The possibility must exist, physisicists argue, otherwise the concepts of "white holes" and singularities wouldn't be viable ones. Tachyons have never been discovered, nor has evidence of their existence ever been presented beyond theoretical concepts.

Tachyons wouldn't allow signals to be transmitted, because they are constantly traveling backwards through time. There would be no reference point- a very important thing to have when sending or receiving a signal.

The current "c-particle" research going on at CERN is merely to test collision theory already elucidated- not to search for new particles.

Bob the Unlucky Octoups
=Vade Retro=

Evil Phil

I'm not the best on these topics, but haven't they planned to look for tachyons at CERN?

Jak

I was under the impression that the research at CERN testing particle collisions (although perhaps unexpected) had resulted in them finding a whole new mess of things emerging from the debris.

Anyhows as regards the Time travel scenario.

Surely if this was possible we might have heard from the future already. Send a message back to kill folk like Hitler and American chat show hosts before they do their damage?

Anyway, the lack of contact with the future would lead me to believe that it has not and will not be done. This holds true unless you are of the opinion that we are at the edge of time moving forward and all else lies in our wake.

JAK.

MiCr0

but what if some one came back in time and saved hitler??
read this and then think again.

[This message has been edited by MiCr0 (edited 26-03-2001).]

Paladin

Yes but the really exciting thing is the possibilities these speeds open. Information transmission basically. Quantom processors, coupled with this....star trek transporters kinda job.

Small particles already have been transported.

Convert matter to energy, then back again. According to Einstein's theories it is quite possible.

amp

I wanna go back in time to kill Hitler before the VW Beetle is made so I can win an argument with Excelsior.

---

Lunacy Abounds! Play GLminesweeper!
art is everything and of course nothing and possibly also a sausage

Yo Mamma

As I now understand it there are two types of particle in this universe. Those that travel slower than light (normal stuff) and those that travel faster than light (muons, tachyons etc - weird stuff). It is impossible for 'normal' particles to travel faster than light because Einstein's theory of relativity says they can't. (who am I to argue with that guy!). Time, for normal particles always travels forward.

But particle physicists at CERN have known about 'weird' particles for quite some time now. Weird particles always travel faster than light! In other words; for those particles time goes backwards!

[note] Physicists use the term 'particle' as a model to better explain their theories. The particles they refer to are actually small energy fields that behave like particles - OK, I just lost half my audience but try stick with it...

We long since learned how to send signals using 'normal' particles in the form of radio waves - right? In other words, you transmit the signal, then (depending on the distance) the signal is received moments later - and that's OK.

BUT. There are an increasing number of scientists who claim they are very close to being able to transmit signals using 'weird' particles - those that travel faster than light! Since it's been proved that time, for 'weird' particles, goes backwards ANY signal sent using 'weird' particles would arrive at it's destination BEFORE it was transmitted!!!

Think of the implications. No more lottery! You could get next week's results today - or last week! This isn't a joke and these guys ain't screwing around! these groups are being funded by government grants to develop this technology!!!

...and you thought the internet was weird - stick around, things are just getting interesting!

Manach

Based solely on what I read in cheesy SciFi books, the latest theory is that you can travel back to an alternative world's timeline and change their past, and thus avoid the Grandfather Paradox.
I'm thinking my trip would involve the Norman Invasion of 1169 + several corp. of tanks to met them on the beach.

MiCr0

but the particles don't go back in time, they merely go faster than light

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">
In Dr. Wang's experiment, the outgoing pulse had already traveled about 60 feet from the chamber before the incoming pulse had reached the chamber's near side. That distance corresponds to 60 billionths of a second of light travel time. But it really wouldn't allow anyone to send information faster than c, said Peter W. Milonni, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While the peak of the pulse does get pushed forward by that amount, an early "nose" or faint precursor of the pulse has probably given a hint to the cesium of the pulse to come. </font>

from here http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/053000sci-physics-light.html

[This message has been edited by MiCr0 (edited 26-03-2001).]

TwoShedsJackson

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by amp:
I wanna go back in time to kill Hitler before the VW Beetle is made so I can win an argument with Excelsior.

</font>

ROFL

Frodo@work

Im thinking william of orange and a para

Baz_

well about not hearing from the future yet, what if a treaty was signed which disallowed any transmissions to a time before they were made possible, hmmmmm, eeeh,think on...

Shiminay

Well, here's a fun idea...

If time travel is "invented" in the future, won't that mean it'll have always existed?

Also, wouldn't these "faster than light" particles be able to exist in several/all time lines at the same time?

This is the ravings of a mad Mayo man and I have no evidence of anything!!!

---

All the best,

Dav
@B^)

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Prepare yourself - The Beefy King stirs from his slumber...</font>

[honey i] violated [the kids]

Panda

"The future is in front of us, the past is behind us, so get the ****ing lead out"

said who?

Isnt this more of an after hours type post, as opposed to humanities?

---

Aka: Dragon,Sexual Harassment Panda

Void

This is all conjecture. It would be nice to see some links to supporting evidence.

The "faster than light" experiment mentioned earlier has an element of truth though. Unfortunately it's a "slower than light" experiment. Physicist slowed light down to 38 mph or something like that. Also of interest is the Higgs-Boson (the so-called God Particle). Scientists believe mass arises from oscillation in an invisible field of these things. CERN thought they had spotted one just before they shut down the LHC (big accelerator yoke). It'll be big news if they find it.

We are indeed living in interesting times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_655000/655518.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_254000/254305.stm#top

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_843000/843163.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1005000/1005491.stm