[HN Gopher] The Hoyle State (2021)
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       The Hoyle State (2021)
        
       Author : gone35
       Score  : 39 points
       Date   : 2025-07-01 18:07 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com)
        
       | libraryofbabel wrote:
       | > I find the failed theories of the 1800s inspiring, and the
       | recent ones merely depressing, since for decades I've had to
       | watch seemingly intelligent scientists cling to these recent
       | theories despite their lack of success.
       | 
       | what's he referring to here? String theory?
        
         | lambda wrote:
         | The anthropic principle, which he discusses and rolls his eyes
         | at.
        
         | layer8 wrote:
         | Part II vs. Part I here, it seems:
         | https://global.oup.com/academic/product/higher-speculations-...
        
         | IAmBroom wrote:
         | I feel like he may be romanticizing the past. Wasn't it one of
         | the Copenhagen Interpretation founders who said, "Good ideas
         | succeed after the old generation opposing them die off" ? (Very
         | rough quote, but I can't find it in a search.)
        
           | FiatLuxDave wrote:
           | You are probably thinking of:
           | 
           | "A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its
           | opponents and making them see the light, but rather because
           | its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up
           | that is familiar with it." - Max Planck
        
       | terminalbraid wrote:
       | The author says "an ordinary beryllium nucleus, 8Be, is made of 4
       | protons and 4 neutrons". This is absolutely untrue as 9Be is the
       | "ordinary" beryllium nucleus. It is in fact one of the best and
       | lowest mass examples of nuclear "magic numbers" having
       | inconsistencies.
       | 
       | 8Be has a halflife of attoseconds and a mass _greater_ than two
       | alpha particles therefore isn 't even a bound state. I'd be hard
       | pressed to even attach the label nucleus to it in the sense that
       | an atom could form around it.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium-8
       | 
       | That extra neutron is somewhat important.
        
         | gmueckl wrote:
         | Oof, that is a major error. I'm wary of explanations in nuclear
         | physics that try to describe bound particles with a classical
         | air of everything being nicely localized.
        
       | chasil wrote:
       | This remends me of HB11 fusion that has been discussed here
       | before.
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusion
        
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       (page generated 2025-07-01 23:00 UTC)