[HN Gopher] IceCube detection of a high-energy particle proves 6...
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       IceCube detection of a high-energy particle proves 60-year-old
       theory
        
       Author : ssklash
       Score  : 47 points
       Date   : 2021-03-11 18:39 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (icecube.wisc.edu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (icecube.wisc.edu)
        
       | ggambetta wrote:
       | "Proves a theory"? Karl Popper would like to have a word with
       | them :)
        
       | DoofusOfDeath wrote:
       | The headline reminds me of the expression, "Theory is
       | underdetermined by data" [0].
       | 
       | Seems to me that the only way the headline could be true is if we
       | use the older definition of "prove": to _test_.
       | 
       | I imagine this is just another case of a university PR writer
       | displaying his ignorance, to the great consternation of the
       | researchers.
       | 
       | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underdetermination
        
       | narag wrote:
       | A long long time ago I was sitting with my mother in the living
       | room when the big glass ashtray on the round table became a
       | thousand pieces that dispersed like a liquid with a sand-like
       | sound.
       | 
       | Someone told me that cosmic rays could do that. Scary.
        
       | magicalhippo wrote:
       | This talk[1] from 2019 at Perimeter gives a nice and accessible
       | overview of IceCube and how it detects neutrinos.
       | 
       | [1]: http://pirsa.org/19040075/
        
       | lainga wrote:
       | 6.3 PeV - that's crazy! Wolfram Alpha tells me that'd be about
       | enough energy as work to depress a key on a keyboard.
        
         | lokimedes wrote:
         | Now that would be spooky action at a distance.
        
       | TheHideout wrote:
       | Tangentially related if you're interested: I worked on IceCube
       | and ARA as an undergrad in college and wrote a lengthy paper on
       | the autonomous power stations we built for the ARA neutrino
       | detectors at the South Pole.
       | 
       | https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.1253
        
       | blakesterz wrote:
       | I was hoping O'Shea Jackson had gotten into physics, but
       | apparently not. IceCube, in this case, is a Neutrino Observatory
       | is the first detector of its kind, designed to observe the cosmos
       | from deep within the South Pole ice.
       | 
       | I've not heard of it before, looks very, uh, cool :-)
       | 
       | https://icecube.wisc.edu/about-us/overview/
        
         | bschne wrote:
         | Mc Hammer is debating philosophy on twitter and clubhouse these
         | days, who knows, might still happen
        
         | SiempreViernes wrote:
         | "Of it's kind" = using ice as the detector medium, there were
         | other neutrino observatories before Pingu.
        
         | maxnoe wrote:
         | IceCube hat a precursor experiment called Amanda, at the same
         | location
        
         | bacon_waffle wrote:
         | > I've not heard of it before, looks very, uh, cool :-)
         | 
         | Indeed! I worked for IceCube for a bit over a year, several
         | years ago, as a Winterover Experiment Operator - more like "on-
         | site technician" than "frozen experimental physicist". Happy to
         | answer questions about that experience.
        
         | karaterobot wrote:
         | Still a good day.
        
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       (page generated 2021-03-11 23:00 UTC)