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Physicists Discover Geometry Underlying Particle Physics

Posted by Soulskill on from the amplituhedron-is-the-word-of-the-day dept.

New submitter Lee_Dailey sends this news from Quanta Magazine: "Physicists have discovered a jewel-like geometric object that dramatically simplifies calculations of particle interactions and challenges the notion that space and time are fundamental components of reality. 'This is completely new and very much simpler than anything that has been done before,' said Andrew Hodges, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University who has been following the work. The revelation that particle interactions, the most basic events in nature, may be consequences of geometry significantly advances a decades-long effort to reformulate quantum field theory, the body of laws describing elementary particles and their interactions. Interactions that were previously calculated with mathematical formulas thousands of terms long can now be described by computing the volume of the corresponding jewel-like "amplituhedron," which yields an equivalent one-term expression."

5 of 600 comments (clear)

  1. 42 by syntheticmemory · · Score: 5, Funny

    Almost there....

  2. Bejeweled... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is secretly a complex distributed particle physics computation!

    1. Re:Bejeweled... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

      Troi: Captain, I can 'feel' the amplituhedron.

      Data: It's become sentient

      Q: Foolish humans ... you could never hope to understand this.

      Wesley: Oh sure, I made one in science class last week.

      ALL: Wesley, STFU.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  3. d20? by space_jake · · Score: 5, Funny

    Roll for initiative...

  4. Re:the wall of fundamental laws by meta-monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Given how many insane conspiracy theories are lately turning out to be not completely insane, I'm just waiting for Congress to rip off their masks and reveal their true identities: Lizard Men from the Hollow Earth.

    --
    We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.