Einstein, Err…We Have a Problem

Posted by Clive in Education, Mysteries

Einstein might turn in his grave, but scientists at the CERN laboratory have published experiential results that suggest travelling faster than the speed of light is possible.

CERN is the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), designed to recreate the conditions of the big bang and the first moments of the universe.

But it is the OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus) project that has captured the headlines in recent days.

Dr. Antonio Ereditato and his team published the results of experiments with sub-atomic particles called neutrino’s.

Conducted over the past 3 years they say they have published them in order for other scientists to test and double check. Simply because they don’t believe what they are seeing.

If the results of the experiments are corroborated by other scientists, it will turn physics on it’s head once more and would prove that there is a way to travel faster than the speed of light.

The previously rock solid (a century of testing had failed to even dent the theory) understanding that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, underpins current physics understanding.

Dr. Ereditato says that it could be a mistake, an error somewhere, but his team cannot find it and that is why he has published the information.

His team at CERN have been conducting experiments that send a beam of muon neutrinos from their CERN lab to another lab at Gran Sasso in Italy. At Gran Sasso they measure how many of another type of neutrino (tau) show up.

During the course of these experiments they noticed that neutrinos were showing up at Gran Sasso slightly, but noticeably and consistently, faster than light would over the same 732km distance.

Dr. Ereditato refuses to speculate on what the results might mean until there has been corroboration by others.

Other people have not been so shy and say that the results would have fundamental impact on many areas of physics including time travel.

It is also possible that while the experiments seem to show that the particles are travelling faster than the speed of light, there are other explanations.

One theory put forward is that they are taking short cuts through other dimensions before returning to ours.

Whatever the outcome, the world of science hasn’t been so excited, or nervous for along time. If proved right, the experiment will send shockwaves through the science community similar to when Einstein first published his theory of relativity.

 

Photo: ukhomeoffice

Junrey Balawing, Worlds Shortest Man Measures Up At 23.6 Inches

Posted by Sam in Celebrity, Mysteries

Junrey Balawing from the Philippines has entered the Guinness book of records as officially the Worlds shortest living man at the age of 18.

Standing at just 23.6 inches tall (59.93 cm) he is almost 3 inches shorter than the previous holder who lives in Nepal and has become a national celebrity.

His family said that although he was born a normal size his family only noticed something was wrong when he was about 4 and his friends were all getting much bigger than him, medication to strengthen his bones at this time in his life didn’t seem to make a difference.

He doesn’t have the strength to walk unassisted for very long and finds standing painful, so he needs constant care. He weighs just 5 kgs.

Saturday May 21st 2011 The End of the World is Nigh…. Maybe

Posted by Jeff in Mysteries

Edit 22nd May 2011: We are still here ! Thank the Lord :)

According to an evangelical broadcaster in the US, May 21st is Judgement Day, 6pm to be precise.

Harold Camping is an 89 year old Christian broadcaster who predicts that today, May 21st, is the day when Jesus Christ will return to the Earthly plane and lift up his true believers into heaven.

Non-believers…. well there’s not much hope for you I’m afraid. Harold said that there will be a giant earthquake today, apparently indicated by biblical texts, which will destroy the earth. Non-believers will not be ‘raptured’ up to heaven with the believers but left to their fate.

The story and message have been heavily promoted by his radio network around the world although it is not the first time that Mr Camping has predicted the end of the world.

He also predicted the end in 1994, he now says that he got his calculations wrong.

In a rebuttal to Mr Camping, US atheists are holding ‘Rapture after parties’ in response to his claims calling them a countdown to back-peddling.

In whatever viewpoint you hold, maybe it is just a timely reminder of that age old pearl of wisdom that we all should ‘live everyday like it is our last’.

Photo: Lord Jim

Saint Georges Day – 23rd April

Posted by Clive in Education, Mysteries

Saint George is the Patron Saint of England, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Germany, Portugal and Greece. April 23rd is traditionally his day and is celebrated on this day, although in 2011 St Georges Day falls on Easter’s Holy Saturday.

Ironically for someone so famous and revered, not much is known about St. George. There are almost no certifiable facts about the man behind the legend so much of his life story as we know it today may or may not be true.

It is thought that he was born in an area which is now part of Turkey, in about the 3rd century where he was brought up a Christian. After his father died his mother brought him to her birthplace in Palestine.

He became a member of the Roman army and rose through the ranks until he was ordered to slay Christians by the Emperor Diocletian. He refused and resigned his post in protest. This led to his imprisonment, torture and eventual execution in Palestine.

How much of this is fact and how much fiction is difficult to tell but it is obvious why he was adopted as a Patron Saint by Christian countries. In England the first St. Georges Day was in 1222 after Crusaders returned from the Holy Land with tales of his mystical appearances leading them into battle.

However, there are some people who believe that the entire story is made up and that he didn’t actually exist. Others believe that the Christian Church took a Pagan story and twisted it for their own means.

The image of St. George that we usually see today as a knight slaying a Dragon is from a later time, around the 15th Century.

He achieved fame in this form after a book called The Golden Legend was published, describing his rescue of a Princess and the slaying of a Dragon after the King and his subjects had converted to Christianity.

Photo: colros

Proof That Roswell Crash WAS Aliens?

Posted by Clive in Education, Mysteries

The FBI have published some of their files online and amongst them is an intriguing 1 page memo that seemingly backs up the claims of crashed UFO’s and alien pilots at Roswell.

Released under the freedom of information act this memo was written on the 22nd March 1950 by Special Agent Guy Hottel to the Director of the FBI.

In it he states that an investigator for the US Air Force had made a statement that 3 flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico.

Described as circular in shape about 50 feet in diameter, with a raised center. Each had been found to contain 3 bodies 3 feet tall dressed in metallic cloth.

He attributed the crashes to a high powered radar that the government had setup in the area.

It is certainly an intriguing document, you can view it for yourself here FBI memo, it is interesting that it finishes with the assertion that no further evaluation was attempted by Special Agent [blank].

Was this because he had passed the investigation on to higher authorities, because he didn’t believe what he was being told or for some other reason?

Check out the document for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments section below.