New 'Mystery Meson' Sub-Atomic Particle Discovered

securitas writes "The BBC reports that scientists in Japan have discovered a new sub-atomic particle that defies current theories of matter and energy. The 'mystery meson' X(3872) was revealed while studying beauty quarks at the KEK High Energy Accelerator Research Organization Tsukuba meson factory. 'It weighs about the same as a single atom of helium and exists for only about one billionth of a trillionth of a second before it decays into other longer-lived, more familiar particles.' Scientists say the lifespan 'is nearly an eternity for a sub-atomic particle this heavy' and may require a change in current theory. Possible explanations for this include the particle being comprised of two quarks and two antiquarks, instead of the usual one-one pairing. More explanation and illustrations at KEK."

Comments

Re:US Research

[aminorex]

You're taking rhetorical cheap shots and
failing to substantively address the issue.
Whether Pfizer can sell something or not is
not interesting. What is interesting is
whether it kills people or saves their lives.
Oxfam estimates that a strategic investment
of $20 in famine relief is the cost of a
human life. For the cost of the SSC project,
the U.S. could have eliminated malnutrition
globally. For this reason, I contend that
ever HEP physicist should be taken out and
shot, before they kill again.