(no subject)
Yes, I am officially excited by the news!
It looks like there is a good chance that the proton is smaller than we thought. Previously the accepted value was .8768 femtometers, but a recent experiment puts it at .84184 femtometers, using a more accurate technique.
That's only 4% smaller, on a very small size (a femtometer is 10^-15 meters).
The tricky part is that the size of the proton is intrinsically connected to the value of the Rydberg constant. If protons are smaller, then the Rydberg constant has to change. But the constant can be calculated to its current value using quantum electrodynamics (QED)... the fundamental basis of all modern quantum theory. Thus, if the Rydberg constant changes, we need to change or replace QED.
On the other hand, it may just be that muonic atoms are a tad different in their Lamb shift, due to different rates of formation of virtual electron-positron pairs.
I really can't wait to see how this one comes out. It could be the biggest thing since indications of a rest mass for the neutrino.
It looks like there is a good chance that the proton is smaller than we thought. Previously the accepted value was .8768 femtometers, but a recent experiment puts it at .84184 femtometers, using a more accurate technique.
That's only 4% smaller, on a very small size (a femtometer is 10^-15 meters).
The tricky part is that the size of the proton is intrinsically connected to the value of the Rydberg constant. If protons are smaller, then the Rydberg constant has to change. But the constant can be calculated to its current value using quantum electrodynamics (QED)... the fundamental basis of all modern quantum theory. Thus, if the Rydberg constant changes, we need to change or replace QED.
On the other hand, it may just be that muonic atoms are a tad different in their Lamb shift, due to different rates of formation of virtual electron-positron pairs.
I really can't wait to see how this one comes out. It could be the biggest thing since indications of a rest mass for the neutrino.