Serebii Posted September 24, 2011 Posted September 24, 2011 They haven't found an error yet. The people at CERN are publishing the experiments for other scientists to scrutinise because they haven't worked it out. That isn't scrutinise the theory, but the experiments themselves. You're assuming that because they are publishing it then they are assuming that the results are concrete. They've measured the speeds of neutrinos before you know. The media as a whole understand little of what really happens at CERN (I don't know much either!) but when they hear stuff like faster than light travel or time travel then they are going to sensationalise it. After all, we'd love our science fiction fantasies to come true. I'm not assuming that at all, what I'm saying is that saying otherwise, that it has to be inaccurate, outright is narrow-minded. I've actually considered the consequences of what faster than light travel can mean and I will be completely gob smacked if this CERN experiment proves to be correct. I never said it was impossible, I just said it was more than likely that an error had been made, based on what I know. So enough with the strawmans and calling me narrow minded. Of course, I guess I'm also narrow minded for not believing in god, UFOs or the giant spaghetti monster. Like many people, you're confusing two meanings of the word "theory". Gravity is a "theory", so is all of science. But you would not say that the theory of gravity is a mere speculative hypothesis or conjecture that we can choose to believe. Rather it is a schema of ideas held as an explanation of a group of facts that has been backed up by experiment and evidence. Of course scientific theory can never be proved outright (just as you cannot disprove the existence of anything), but common sense says we should treat it as fact. The theory that the Earth is round and not flat is only a theory, but we treat it as fact. This may seem ridiculous but everything we regard as a fact is actually a scientific theory is some way or another. I'd like some examples where our science has been routinely proven wrong, as you so put it. Science changes and adapts, but past results will still be true, and old theory is never discarded, but updated. If a theory is updated, then the original theory was inaccurate, hence the update. That is classed as being proven wrong. Wrong = Inaccurate. Just because it gets updated with more observations which originally contradict or disprove something does not mean that it was right all along. Our science is primarily based upon observation. We once thought that atoms were the smallest particle possible, but we then split that open and saw otherwise. It is in a constant state of flux. My problem is with people thinking it is absolute, when it clearly isn't. So many are treating science like a religion. If something appears that may counter what they believed, they dismiss it outright. I'm not saying we shouldn't hold some level of caution with this, as it could be an error, but they have tested for errors repeatedly and found none, so they published to get other scientists to double check because it is such a profound discovery if accurate.
Eenuh Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Looking at pretty time-lapse videos taken by the ISS. So beautiful! Makes me wish I was an astronaut heh.
Retro_Link Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Incredible!! Thanks @Eenuh! It's so cool seeing our planet lit up at night by civilisation like that!
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted September 26, 2011 Posted September 26, 2011 Amazing! Those flashing clouds in the middle of the first video, were those thunder clouds?
heroicjanitor Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Turns out the neutrino thing was wrong. The gps they used to measure the departure and arrival times was moving. They didn't take it into account. Some dutch physicists measured how much they should have taken away and it was almost exactly how much they claim it is faster than light. Mystery solved
Gizmo Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I am disappoint. I was rooting for the "its proof of higher dimensions" theory. Source for heroic's post: http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/232658/20111017/faster-than-light-neutrino-puzzle-was-einstein-right-or-wrong-special-relativity.htm
Happenstance Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Quite a shame really. It was almost exciting feeling that we were possibly entering some kind of new scientific age
heroicjanitor Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I'm pleased about it really, spent a few years learning this stuff. For it to suddenly be wrong and no one to see it coming, it would be weird. Also fitting that relativity explains why their results were wrong. Defending itself from its accusers :p
Happenstance Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Things Ever Discovered in Space
Mokong Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 Turns out the neutrino thing was wrong. The gps they used to measure the departure and arrival times was moving. They didn't take it into account. Some dutch physicists measured how much they should have taken away and it was almost exactly how much they claim it is faster than light. Mystery solved Well Boo to that The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Things Ever Discovered in Space Well damn, Mind = Blown
Happenstance Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Anyone watching Stargazing Live tonight then?
Happenstance Posted April 14, 2012 Posted April 14, 2012 'Monolith' Object on Mars? http://news.yahoo.com/monolith-object-mars-could-call-214004772.html Looks like an older style iPod nano to me
Debug Mode Posted April 14, 2012 Posted April 14, 2012 'Monolith' Object on Mars? http://news.yahoo.com/monolith-object-mars-could-call-214004772.html Looks like an older style iPod nano to me I've known about this monolith for quite a while, still surprised it's not well known stuff! There's even quite an old video of Bull Aldrin himself mentioning another monolith but on Phobos, one of the moons of Mars. Every time I think about these fucking monoliths though, one image come to mind, a pissed off monkey.
Cube Posted April 14, 2012 Posted April 14, 2012 I love how the article headline has a ton of speculation...but the article explains "We've known for years that it's just a big boulder...it isn't even all that straight, it just looks it due to to the resolution of the image".
gaggle64 Posted April 14, 2012 Posted April 14, 2012 Here's this for an image - The ESA's ATV-3 (Automated Transfer Vehicle) docking with the ISS last month with fuel, oxygen and supplies. Amazing image. It's genuinely like a frame straight out of 2001 - A Space Odyssey.
LegoMan1031 Posted April 14, 2012 Posted April 14, 2012 Here's this for an image - The ESA's ATV-3 (Automated Transfer Vehicle) docking with the ISS last month with fuel, oxygen and supplies. Amazing image. It's genuinely like a frame straight out of 2001 - A Space Odyssey. Can't think of any other word other than... awesome!
Debug Mode Posted April 15, 2012 Posted April 15, 2012 Man, I knew it was a bad idea to enter this thread. I would kill scores of people to go up to space.
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