Science Fiction Newsletter - Dec 2011

For a full list of previous issues, go to: "Science Fiction Newsletter - Archives" 

December 1, 2011

Editor: EarlyHours-A Vigilante Ranger
Co-Editor: D. R. Prescott






1. About this Newsletter
2. Letter from the Editor
3. Special Feature
4. Editor's Picks
5. Ask & Answer

Faster Than Light Neutrinos

There is some irony in the fact that the Science Fiction Newsletter is a bit late this month. Based on the subject, you'd have expected it to be a few milliseconds early. The hot topic in the physics community right now is Faster Than Light Neutrinos. Do they exist? Are they real? Can something actually break the cosmic speed limit? A recent experiment in Italy suggests that these neutrinos actually travel faster than light. Personally, I'm not surprised because people in Italy have been breaking speed limits for a long time! Or could the experiment be flawed because it was done by visiting Americans who still don't get the metric system? Is it physics, or is it science fiction? In our Special Feature this month, D. R. Prescott gives us a scientific primer on the subject. But first, in my Letter From the Editor, I look at the lighter side of these pesky little whatevertheyare.

Neutrino jokes; they'd probably go straight through you!

I wrote a speed of light joke... but a neutrino beat me to it! But seriously folks, my favorite thing about the FTL neutrino craze has been the jokes. In fact, it was a neutrino joke on Facebook that made me want to read about the subject. Surprisingly, neither Leno nor Letterman has picked up on it yet. But never fear! Sci-fi geeks and amateur theoretical physicists abound, and in these circles, neutrinos can be quite funny! Some of you may laugh, and some of you may just groan, but hopefully none of you will unsubscribe. But here goes:

We don't allow faster than light neutrinos in here, said the bartender.
A neutrino walks into a bar.



When the neutrino heard the news that scientists discovered faster-than-light neutrinos, he was beside himself.



If the neutrino is faster than light, does that explain why physicists never saw it coming?



A neutrino and a photon walk into a bar. And for the next 60 nanoseconds the neutrino complains about how dark it is.



Chuck Norris plans a press conference for yesterday to explain how he transferred the neutrinos so fast.



A neutrino walks into a bar, to smoke, and the bartender says, "need a light?" The neutrino replies, "I am already one step ahead of you."



Einstein: "Do you realize how fast you were going?"
Neutrino: "No. Was I speeding?"



After the neutrino incident, Moody's downgraded Einstein's General Theory of Relativity from AAA to AA+.



A neutrino walks into a bar, and the barman says, "Weren't you here earlier?"

I'm not sure why these tickle me so much. Maybe it's the warped sense of humor that reading science fiction gives me. Or maybe science jokes in general strike me in just the right way. For example, one of the funniest jokes I ever heard is this one: If you know who Werner Heisenberg is, then you don't know where he is.

Please don't throw tomatoes, but I have to close with my favorite FTL neutrino joke:

I could tell you a joke about FTL neutrinos, but if you aren't already laughing you won't get it!

"The most important discoveries will provide answers to questions that we do not yet know how to ask and will concern objects we have not yet imagined." John N. Bahcall

"Actually, I hope that Albert [Einstein] is proven wrong on this one. Science needs a major game changing shake-up every now and again, and this one looks to be a possible doorway to a fascinating future of possibilities." Marc Lee Pusey

\

Not So Fast!

by D. R. Prescott

         Today, most people consider that the fastest anything can go is the speed of light, or c. However, some recent, preliminary results of an experiment called Opera got an astonishing result—a beam of neutrinos sent over 730 kilometers from CERN to Italy got there at faster than the speed of light, a mere 61 billionths of a second faster but raising eyebrows throughout the physics community.

         Was there something wrong with their experiment giving a faster-than-light (FTL) answer? Or, is the theory of relativity, and, hence, the Standard Model, wrong about the intractable speed limit in our universe? If the experiment was flawed as might be determined by others results, Einstein and the Standard Model will be vindicated again as so often in the past. If it is ever validated that these neutrinos exceeded c even for an instant, the implications, both scientifically and philosophically, could be staggering, rendering what we thought we knew about the universe to merely what we need to find out... in a hurry!

         If at c, the speed of light, length goes to zero, mass becomes infinite, and it takes an infinite amount of energy to get there, as all the math suggests, what is going on with these lawbreaking neutrinos? Many think that the neutrino has mass, albeit, a very tiny mass. If so, how does it avoid the infinity awaiting it at c?

         The subject of time comes very much into play too. What happens when you use the time dilation equation (also known as the Lorentz Transformation) to calculate speeds in excess of c? Calculating the equation past the speed of light is doable, but a lot of weeds crop up in the physics garden.

         Let's say you are traveling for one second at 0.9c relative to an observer at rest. One second would pass for someone observing you (relatively) but your clock on board would only register 0.19 second. Your mass would also increase dramatically the closer you get to c—about 2.29 times your mass at rest. That is all familiar stuff to sci-fi writers. Here is where it gets really spooky.

         Time goes negative immediately after passing over c. At 2c based on the time dilation equation, you would experience minus three seconds, arriving before you started! If that is not enough to give you a migraine, to get to that speed you have to cross that insurmountable barrier—c itself, where infinite energy is required getting there; your mass once there becomes infinite; and your length is zero, nada, nothing.

         Even more disturbing, once the faster-than-light (FTL) neutrino passes c, what might be its mass? It is dead certain that the standard relativistic equation to calculate its mass doesn't work. Could it be something akin to quantum tunneling? Is there some undiscovered step function at c that avoids those pesky infinities and zeros?

         If some form of tunneling is at work, would an FTL neutrino have the same mass as it did before it tunneled to speeds in excess of c? After tunneling, might it wind up losing mass exchanging it for energy to increase or sustain its speed? Could it have a negative mass and what would that mean? Is that even possible? Science fiction writers may have a field day with the possibilities and the questions that might be posed based on the experiment's stimulating results.

         Not so fast! Before we all go out and start writing FTL yarns about neutrino drives and arriving before you left, perhaps it would be prudent to wait until there are experimental results from peer-reviewed sources, either confirming FTL neutrino properties or providing a logical, Standard Model friendly explanation for such a startling anomaly.

"Supernova explosions that are invisible to us because of dust clouds may occur in our galaxy as often as once every 10 years, and neutrino bursts could give us a way to study them." John N. Bahcall

Here are contests of interest to our Newsletter readers. Please participate, and support members who encourage science fiction writers in the WDC community!

ID: 1773618   (Rated: 13+) Beyond Shadow  A sci-fi/fantasy/horror/supernatural contest. Currently closed. by .Wolfie.

ID: 1670276   (Rated: 13+) Separate Worlds Monthly Contest  Win Gift Points and the chance to be published in a bi-monthly ezine by Colin Back on the Ghost Roads

ID: 710935   (Rated: 13+) Star Trek Poem CONTEST  Closed for now... by Maryann

A variety of Editor's Picks, some chosen for the Holiday Season:

ID: 1828330 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 791128   (Rated: E) The Tales of Great, Great Grandmother  This is a science fiction short story about a little girl and her Nana. by Shaara

ID: 1046585   (Rated: E) Christmas on the Moon  Santa is saved by the first girl living on the moon... by Lynn

ID: 1506093   (Rated: 13+) Dreaming of a White Christmas  Escape from the present to a Christmas past by Asherman

ID: 1734716 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1499175   (Rated: 18+) Subatomic Particles  Neutrino Tao by bob county

ID: 1452116   (Rated: E) Oscillator Substance Model of Existence  Existence as a triple-point substance of separable oscillators. mass, gravity defined. by Dean L. Sinclair

ID: 1830478   (Rated: E) Singularity  “Which came first? The chicken or the egg?” Davi looked up, “What’s a chicken?” by HuntersMoon - Gone4Awhile

ID: 894790   (Rated: 13+) Astray  The veil between the living and the dead is drawn aside. by Rick²

ID: 1765162   (Rated: 13+) Trick or Tweet  Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing pace. Can it be taken too far? by Tom Buck

Guest Editors Wanted!

For upcoming issues of the Unofficial Science Fiction newsletter, I would like to invite subscribers to contribute. We are currently taking a tour of the Solar System, looking for interesting destinations for our stories' characters. Consider writing a "Special Feature," based on this or any other scientific of sci-fi interest you may have. Don't hesitate to contact me anytime if this appeals to you! -ed.

Last month's Newsletter topic was Jupiter in Science Fiction

:

Oldwarrior - Disabled Veteran : "Great newsletter. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will keep a copy in my "Keepers" file.
There may be life on Jupiter. If life can exist seven miles down in the Marianas Trench in the Pacific, even thrive, who knows what conditions life can adapt to? We SF Writers know..."

eyestar-computer stopped! : "... this is an astounding and organized piece of work with interesting and thorough informative writings! I have enjoyed the trip through space via the planet hopping! I study astrology so I love the theme you present! The quotes were in keeping with the theme too. Good choices. The blue sets them off well to separate sections too....

"...It must have been interesting to read older stories and compare to what we know today. They really had good imaginations going with what they knew. We have to top them now we know more facts. It will be interesting in the future to see what the next generations will do with Jupiter!...

"...Looks like wtih Jupiter we may have to exist in our nebulous astral forms!
I like the related links to stories too--a doorway into creativity--and so many about Jupiter. Cool!"

LJPC - the tortoise : "I've been working so hard on my currect novel that it took me 2 weeks to find time to read this. Congrats to EvilDawg on his first guest editor stint! You did a great job, and I enjoyed all the info. D.R. Prescott must be a super-historian considering all the details about Astor and Burroughs (I always think of you as a doctor because of the D.R.). Jay, never fear about the quotes, You always find perfect ones and this time was no exception." thanks Laura, EH

Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the feedback from readers. Keep it coming! - ed.

Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Unofficial Newsletter!

Reader feedback and comments is important to the Unofficial Science Fiction Newsletter (USFNL). Much of the Newsletter's content is based on reader feedback and discussion. Feedback can always be sent directly to EarlyHours-A Vigilante Ranger , but to make discussion even easier, a USFNL Forum has been set up. Feel free to post and interact at the Forum; some of the discussion may end up here! And don't forget to add the Forum (below) to your list of Favorites, and post often!

ID: 1703191   (Rated: 13+) Science Fiction Newsletter Forum  Discussion of NL Topics, Reader Feedback, Ask & Answer by EarlyHours-A Vigilante Ranger

Please check out our "sponsor":

ID: 1617315   (Rated: 18+) The Sci-fi Writers Guild  Collaborations, discussions and reviews - Welcome to the Sci-fi Writers Guild by EvilDawg - A Vigilante Ranger!

Thanks for reading, and see you next month!

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