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Spiraling Magnetic Signal Shows Up In the Cosmic Background

Posted by timothy on from the headline-can-only-hold-so-many-words dept.

pln2bz writes "Astronomers looking for confirmation for emissions from early stellar formation in the cosmic microwave background radiation instead found a signal indicating large amounts of unaccounted-for spiraling magnetic fields in space, but without any accompanying infrared emissions. The discovery possibly dredges up the claims of plasma cosmologists like Eric Lerner, who claim that the intergalactic medium is a strong absorber of the CMB with the absorption occurring in a fog of narrow filaments. These filaments are the result of plasma's natural tendency, as observed within the plasma laboratory and in novelty plasma globes, to form braided, ropelike structures which are collimated by coiled magnetic fields."

10 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Err..what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This news is too nerdy to understand. Can someone explain it in more detail?

    1. Re:Err..what? by Tyrannicsupremacy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's called spiral energy. Giga!!! Drill!!!!! BREAAAAAAAKERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

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      http://i.cubeupload.com/T6cyLu.png
    2. Re:Err..what? by Goaway · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, that's pretty much exactly what it is. It accurately reflects how much the astronomers care about it. There's hydrogen, and helium, and that other shit up there.

    3. Re:Err..what? by Rei · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Slashdot summary summary:

      "Scientists discover something and have theories for it, but they're wrong and a pseudoscience is true."

      --
      "99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
    4. Re:Err..what? by Aqua_boy17 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Spiraling signal? Filaments? Braided rope-like structures?

      To me it sounds like they've finally found proof of FSM's existence.

      --
      What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
    5. Re:Err..what? by pln2bz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Slashdot enthusiasts appear to not realize that astrophysicists blame either magnetic fields, dark matter or black holes every time that their model fails to predict their observations. If you guys pay more attention, you'll notice the trend. The Standard Model is not resolving its enigmatic observations so much as it is categorizing or binning the mysteries into these three categories, for future resolution.

      In a strict sense, this is pretty pseudo-scientific -- especially when it comes to the manufactured mystery of magnetic fields. In every discipline OTHER than astrophysics, magnetic fields are acknowledged to be the side effect of electric currents. But, within astrophysics, magnetic fields and their line-drawn representations are treated as prime movers and shakers -- real, physical entities that can accumulate and release energy when the field lines connect (magnetic connection). The electrical engineers and plasma physicists that are actually listening to the astrophysicists will shake their heads every time that an astrophysicist talks about the merging of magnetic field lines. If a magnetic field is a real, physical entity that can store energy, then doesn't that qualify it as a metaphysical entity? Is it real or not? Is there an aether or not? Astrophysicists appear to reject the theory of the aether, and yet rely upon aether-based concepts in order to support their gravity-based cosmology.

      Dismissals of competing paradigms as pseudo-science ignore all of this hand-waving that conventional astrophysicists are currently doing.

      This is no joke.

      For instance, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724221049.htm ...

      "The origin of magnetic fields in galaxies is still a mystery to astronomers. Popular theories suggest continual strengthening over billions of years. The latest results from Simon Lilly's group, however, contradict this assumption and reveal that young galaxies also have strong magnetic fields.

      "There is an astronomer joke that goes 'to understand the universe, we examine galaxies for radiation, gases, temperatures, chemical constitution and much more. Anything we can't explain after that we attribute to the magnetic fields'", explains Simon Lilly, Professor at the Institute of Astronomy at ETH Zurich. The creations of the magnetic fields in galaxies remain a badly researched mystery."

      Now, does it make a whole lot of sense for a scientist to claim great certainty that there are no electric currents over plasmas in space, while simultaneously expressing frustration with the widespread observation of magnetic fields in space? In every other discipline, the two are inextricably bound.

      Go figure.

      --
      "A man cannot begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows." --Epictetus, 1st Century A.D.
  2. Not this again... by Karma+Bandit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Experimental data speculation + crackpot plasma theory = Slashdot science?

  3. DNA by el_jake · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Three letters spring into mind - DNA

    --
    In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep.
  4. pln2bz is a strong proponent of EU theory by spun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    He has a history of posting any story that can possibly be interpreted as supporting the electric universe theory, along with his speculations as to why the story proves EU correct. Just saying...

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  5. Re:Calling Electric Universe in 3 ... 2 ... 1... by Captain+Nitpick · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yet, it has been the few, the daring to be different, not the ones feeling safe in the crowd, that have contributed the most to major knowledge in the early history of experimental and observational science.

    Other early scientists, such as Kepler, Copernicus, Pasteur and others also had to fight the majority status quo establishment, but were finally, after a long uphill battle proven to be right.

    "The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." -- attributed to Carl Sagan

    --
    But then again, I could be wrong.