Slashdot Mirror
More Strange Bose-Einstein Condensate Behavior
Allen Varney writes "According to a story on EurekAlert, an arXiv preprint server paper titled 'Scattering of atoms on a Bose-Einstein Condensate' reports that atoms striking a BEC sometimes appears to leave before they enter. 'This doesn't imply a breaking of the light-speed barrier, time travel or anything overly exotic but is a property of waves being broken down into component parts and being reassembled slightly differently. [...] As an atom hits the BEC, it is absorbed into the collective state but still exists as a vibration. The vibration travels through the BEC but can escape as an atom once more. The study reinforces the similarity between atoms as waves and light as waves.' Slashdot has talked about supposed faster-than-light travel once or twice (or more) before."
I think Bose-Einstein condensates are used in the making and / or broadcasting of sitcoms and movies. You're watching a movie or sitcom, and you already know what's going to happen. My guess is that you've already seen it just slightly before.
... would a particle have been emitted anyway?
Ie: Is there enough information in the 'onset' part of the wave to cause the reconstruction of a particle at the other end, similar to the other 'faster than light' story? I'm betting there is.
While I'm ranting: Why does the dot keep posting stories about obviously-misinterpreted science news while ignoring *serious* news like the cure for 1/3 of cancers in mice from a week ago?
.f00Dave
You know, I'd be surprised if more than a couple of /. readers actually understand that paper. I just read it, and its pretty hard core. Well over my head.
/. Then again, no-one actually reads the articles, anyway....
Amazing what gets posted on
Michael
There is no cryptographic solution to the problem where the intended receiver and the attacker are the same entity.
One minute you're striking a BEC, the next minute 10 seconds have gone by.
I am a Karma Library.
I have discovered a truly wonderful explanation of this phenomenon, which unfortunately the lameness filter will not let me post!
The first time I leanerd quantum mechanics, I didn't understant it.
The second time I learned quantum mechanics, I thought I understood it.
The third time I learned quantum mechanics, I knew I didn't understand it.
Lord, bless my users that they may stop being such fucking idiots!!
I remember that something similarly shocking was published back then in 1948.
;-)
The article in question was:
"The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline"
Let's give some credit to pioneers!
That's because the truly insightful comments left the thread before they were even entered.