Re: The Biggest Experiments in Science

Uncle Al <UncleAl0@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:<42499E38.C3ABA453@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>...
> Spiros wrote:
> >
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am posting to this group as it is moderated and i shall hopefull
> > avoid cranks and glean some sensible and authoratative information.
> >
> > I work for a newly formed TV production company that is at the
> > development phase of a programme based on what currently costitute the
> > biggest experiments in science. "Biggest" in this sense relates not
> > only to scale but also to the the extent to which they are probing the
> > fundamentals of physics and existence.
> >
> > The ones that i have researched to date and which semm to fit this
> > framework are as follows:
> >
> > 1) The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN
> > 2) The ITER nuclear fusion project
> > 3) The Cassini / Huygens project to determine if life could exist on
> > Titan
> > 4) Laser Interferometer Wave Observatory (LIGO)
> > 5) The Pierre Auger Observatory - high energy cosmic ray experiement
> >
> > I would appreciate feedback on this choice. Please bear in mind that
> > although bigger experiments are being proposed the above either all
> > exist, or will soon to as funding has been allocated.
> >
> > Also bear in mind that I work in TV and too many equations tend to
> > make me want to reach for yet another gin and tonic.
>
> http://einstein.stanford.edu/
> Gravity Probe-B. Does the spinning Earth grab space?
>
> The very biggest experiments can fit on a benchtop. If you had two
> lumps of stuff that fell differently you would kill General Relativity
> (that assumes everything local falls identically in vacuum - the
> Equivalence Principle). You might also take down the Standard Model
> and quantum mechanics. Folks have wondered if different chemical
> compositions fall differently for 400+ years,
>
> http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/eotvos.htm#b22
> historical list
>
> The apparatus has become wonderfully clever and sensitive - the size
> of your fist shielded inside a water heater,
>
> http://www.npl.washington.edu/eotwash/
> Eric Adelberger and Blayne Heckel - masters of the art
> http://www.physics.uci.edu/gravity/
> Riley Newman - cryogenic Eotvos balance in a missile bunker
> http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~kostelec/mov.html
> Alan Kostelecky
>
> Jun Luo at the Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science
> and Technology, Wuhan PR China is breaking new ground. He is
> comparing test masses of *identical* chemical composition but opposite
> atomic lattice handedness. Does a left hand fall identically to a
> right hand? The first experiment had a modestly interesting outcome.
> Alas, no Web page,
>
> Vox 0086-27-87556653
> Fax 0086-27-87542391
> junluo 'at' mail.hust.edu.cn
> junluo 'at' public.wh.hb.cn

Thanks Uncle Al,

I have been following your work on the Eotvos experiments for a while
actually as I find these discussion pages quite handy for reasearching
new science programming.

The issue I suppose is that to make good compelling TV for the masses
means that you need the "wow" factor. Although New Scientist is often
derided as being a bit populist and ready to jump on any old bandwagon
for the sake of a good headline they write the sort of articles that
get the 99.999% of the population who run away at the mere mention of
physics, interested. Translating this sort of stuff onto screen will
hopefully make people realise that the billions that are being spent
on these projects are in no way wasted and will hopefully inspire a
few people to take up the sciences (an area which is sadly dwindling
in the UK , which is where I am from).

I think the EP experiment definitely fits the criteria of potentially
revolutionising physics, but I suppose i was being slightly ingenuous
when I said that scale was not important. The viewing public (I am
hoping this programme will go to a major a major UK terrestrial
channel and not be stuck away on Nat Geo) do like a a big machine,
they like big numbers and they want to see lots of scientists running
around in white coats with clipboards.

Saying that I love the story of Gravity Probe B and this is now in our
potential list.

I hope your Eotvos produces a non-null result, physics seems to have
reached a bit of an impasse over the last 20 years and could do with
something elegant coming along to sort it out. As a non-scientist
things Like M-Theory do not seem to have the appropriate elegance that
befits nature. (That will get me flamed no doubt!)


Kind regards

.

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