The Search Continues for the Source of All Matter

The Enriched Xenon Observatory, where the experiment took place.

It's one of the great mysteries of the very early universe.  Where did all the matter in the universe come from?  The current theories maintain that equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created just after the Big Bang, but obviously, this can't be the case.  There is a lot of matter floating around, but very little naturally occurring antimatter.  The answer to this conundrum could lie in Majorana particles, or particles that act as their own antimatter.  Such particles have been confirmed, but scientists wondered if neutrinos were also Majorana particles.  After a lengthy experiment, we've come up empty.

The lack of results doesn't necessarily prove that neutrinos don't act as their own antimatter particle, but it does make it unlikely.  The article also states that Majorana particles aren't the only way to reconcile the matter-antimatter disparity, of course, that research isn't going any better.  So, the mystery of matter continues on.

My Other Blogs
Loose on the Internet
Cool Golf News

My Twitter

Gamma Ray Lasers

There have been a lot of articles in the past few days about global warming.  It is a serious problem, and we should definitely do something about it.  But you know what?  Sometimes I get tired of reading all these gloomy things about how mankind is ruining the planet.  It's important to know, but there are times when you just want to read something light and frivolous.  Like this.

Sure, a gamma ray laser is still theoretical at this point, and they preface things by saying that it would be incredible useful in medical imaging, but let's not make things too practical here.  A gamma ray laser.  Gamma rays, the most intense form of light there is, with a wavelength of a few picometers, smaller than an atom.  The best part about this is the gain medium, or the part that turns the light into a laser beam.  Positronium sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi movie, but it's a real thing, and I wish I was a scientist working on this project so I could say I work with a positronium laser.  Useful and practical?  Maybe.  Incredibly fun-sounding?  Definitely.

My Other Blogs
Loose on the Internet
Cool Golf News

My Twitter