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Researchers lead by Gwendel Fève, a physicist at Sorbonne University in Paris, have discovered the first experimental evidence that certain quasi-particles are 'anyons', members of a third kingdom of particles that are not fermions or bosons.
Every last particle in the universe — from a cosmic ray to a quark — is either a fermion or a boson. These categories divide the building blocks of nature into two distinct kingdoms.
While Quasi-particles demonstrating fractional quantum hall effect and displaying a fraction of the charge of a single electron had been observed before, this research is the first that demonstrates that they match predicted anyon behavior.
In 1984, a seminal two-page paper by [Frank A Wilzczek], Daniel Arovas and John Robert Schrieffer showed that these quasiparticles had to be anyons. But scientists had never observed anyon-like behavior in these quasiparticles. That is, they had been unable to prove that anyons are unlike either fermions or bosons, neither bunching together nor totally repelling one another.
That's what the new study does. In 2016, three physicists described an experimental setup that resembles a tiny particle collider in two dimensions. Fève and his colleagues built something similar and used it to smash anyons together. By measuring the fluctuations of the currents in the collider, they were able to show that the behavior of the anyons corresponds exactly with theoretical predictions.
"Everything fits with the theory so uniquely, there are no questions," said Dmitri Feldman, a physicist at Brown University who was not involved in the recent work. "That's very unusual for this field, in my experience."
Journal Reference:
H. Bartolomei, M. Kumar, R. Bisognin, et al. Fractional statistics in anyon collisions [$], Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5601)
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Monday May 18 2020, @04:22AM (9 children)
We shall ask no questions about quasi-reality.
The phrase "Everything fits the theory." accepted as a next dogma.
Keep sciencing...
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by pdfernhout on Tuesday May 19 2020, @02:16AM (8 children)
See also: https://web.archive.org/web/20090308132014/http://suppressedscience.net/physics.html [archive.org]
"Science is in a state of crisis. Where free inquiry, natural curiosity and open-minded discussion and consideration of new ideas should reign, a new orthodoxy has emerged. This 'new inquisition', as it has been called by Robert Anton Wilson (2) consists not of cardinals and popes, but of the editors and reviewers of scientific journals, of leading authorities and self-appointed "skeptics", and last but not least of corporations and governments that have a vested interest in preserving the status quo, and it is just as effective in suppressing unorthodox ideas as the original. The scientists in the editorial boards of journals who decide which research is fit to be published, and which is not, the science bureaucrats at the patent office who decide what feats nature allows human technology to perform, and which ones it does not, and the scientists in governmental agencies who decide what proposals to fund, and not to fund, either truly believe that they are in complete knowledge of all the fundamental laws of nature, or they purposely suppress certain discoveries that threaten the scientific prestige of individuals or institutions, or economic interests. Research that indicates that an accepted theory is incomplete, severely flawed, or completely mistaken, is frequently rejected on the grounds that it "contradicts the laws of nature", and therefore has to be the result of sloppiness or fraud. At the heart of this argument is the incorrect notion that theory overrides evidence.
In true science, theory always surrenders to the primacy of evidence. If observations are made that, after careful verification and theoretical analysis, are found to be inconsistent with a theory, than that theory has to go - no matter how aesthetically pleasing it is, how much mathematical elegance it contains, how prestigious its supporters are, or how many billions of dollars a certain industry has bet on it.
This article will show that a different reaction occurs with disturbing regularity. Anomalous evidence is first ignored, then ridiculed, and if that fails, its author attacked. Scientific conferences will not admit it to be presented, scientific journals will refuse to publish it, and fellow scientists know better than to express solidarity with an unorthodox colleague. In today's scientific world, the cards are stacked heavily against true scientific breakthroughs. Too many careers are at stake; too many vested interests are involved for any truly revolutionary advancement in science to take place any more. All too often, scientific truth is determined by the authority of experts and textbooks, not by logic and reason. ..."
The biggest challenge of the 21st century: the irony of technologies of abundance used by scarcity-minded people.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @08:25AM (5 children)
The "new orthodoxy" isn't the only problem. The old fantasies of being the lone voice that gets it are too.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday May 19 2020, @03:48PM (4 children)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/speed-light-may-not-be-constant-physicists-say-flna6C9649533 [nbcnews.com]
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=17/02/03/181210 [soylentnews.org]
Ignoring actual hydrogen atoms and other matter that may be in space, the speed of light could vary/slow in a vacuum due to virtual particles interfering with photons. Not that it should make a big difference.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:29PM (3 children)
Why would virtual particles behave differently in one part of vacuum than another?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:06PM (2 children)
If gravity, magnetic fields, or whatever can affect the virtual particles, they could behave differently.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:16PM (1 child)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:22PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2020, @03:26PM (1 child)
Alright so I am a physicist. Why can NOBODY EXPLAIN why my shit NEVER WORKS?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:28PM