6 replies to this topic

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to release first results

www.bbc.co.uk said:

The scientist leading one of the most expensive experiments ever put into space says the project is ready to come forward with its first results.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was put on the International Space Station to survey the skies for high-energy particles, or cosmic rays.

Nobel Laureate Sam Ting said the scholarly paper to be published in a few weeks would concern dark matter.

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[ExpandMyMind]

What do expect from this, Waspie?

[Waspie_Dwarf]

ExpandMyMind, on 18 February 2013 - 03:23 PM, said:

What do expect from this, Waspie?

The physics behind this is way beyond me.

[bison]

It looks like we're going to learn something, in about a fortnight, about the 80% of matter in the universe that we can't  see, and know practically nothing about.  Interesting times we're living in!

[bison]

NASA TV will carry the press conference, live, about the results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, tomorrow, Wednesday April 3rd at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. (1630 GMT/UT). This was supposed to have happened about a month ago. The extra time taken suggests the possibility that the discovery will be, as previously suggested, an important one. It seems that the bigger the news, the more careful the scientists are about releasing it.

[Zeta Reticulum]

Like the "earth shaking" "one for the history books" recently regarding Mars discoveries?

[bison]

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer press conference was held from from 1:30 to 2:10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time today.
The AMS detected bursts of positrons, which suggest that (rare) energetic interaction of dark matter with ordinary matter occurred. Due to the fact that these bursts were detected from all directions in space, it seems likely that dark matter was detected. Such matter is believed to be distributed evenly throughout space.  
The alternative explanation, that the readings were produced by nearby pulsars, seems less satisfactory, as nearby pulsars are mostly found within the confines of the galactic plane.
The AMS has examined the energy spectrum up to 350 billion electron volts.  Definitive evidence for dark matter, or, alternately, for positron bursts from pulsars, will be obtained at higher energy levels. Dark matter interactions are expected to provide less conspicuous bursts than pulsars, when these higher energy levels are examined. The observations of the AMS will gradually extend into the Trillion Electron volt range. The type of positron bursts expected of dark matter should  be observable, if they exist, fairly early in this process, probably within a few months.

Edited by bison, 03 April 2013 - 07:04 PM.