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Fermilab Scientists Discover New Particle

Posted by samzenpus on from the isn't-it-cute dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Fermilab today announced that scientists working at the CDF (Collision Detector at Fermilab) experiment confirmed the observation of a new particle, the Xi-sub-b. The Xi-sub-b is categorized as a baryon, which are formed of three quarks. Commonly known baryons include the proton as well as the neutron."

7 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Really new? by mswhippingboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    My guess is they've discovered an old particle.

    --
    Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.
    1. Re:Really new? by blair1q · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nope. They made them.

      It's possible, even likely, that something somewhere else (supernova, the big bang, etc.) made some in olden times. But these were brand-spankin' new.

  2. Science! by blair1q · · Score: 4, Informative

    Favorite quotes from TFA:

    "existence of the Xi-sub-b has been predicted for some time"

    "the Xi-sub-b was observed in 25 instances among almost 500 trillion proton-antiproton collisions"

  3. Original paper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.3753

  4. link to actual press release by vlm · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you'd prefer a link to the actual release instead ofconceivablytech's take on it:

    http://www.fnal.gov/pub/presspass/press_releases/2011/CDF-Xi-sub-b-observation-20110720.html

    does anyone have the arXiv link to the actual paper, not the PR fluff?

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  5. Re:Useful? by blueg3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You're thinking of engineering or applied science at best. You won't know the benefits of fundamental research until later. You know, little things like electricity and semiconductors.

  6. Re:Useful? by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes. Speaker cables.

    We haven't decided whether Xi-sub-b free cables or cables with a surplus of Xi-sub-b will sell better. But we'll be ready when marketing figures it out.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.