SEP 6, 2010 - Is the Sun Emitting a Mystery Particle? is a popular science article, brought to my attention by one of my Facebook friends. (Thanks, Karen!) It's fascinating in its own right, if you have any interest at all in the Cosmos - and you do, or you're totally wasting your time with astrology. The nub of it all is that some of the constants of physics have been determined through careful and precise measurement to be - well, not constant at all, but variable. The rate of radioactive decay of carbon-14, for example, has been used for generations to determine the age of ancient objects; on the assumption that carbon-14 decays steadily over time. This is the well known process of radiocarbon dating. Lo and behold, it appears that solar activity seasonally alters the rate of carbon-14 decay. Closer examination turns up other irregularities in what were previously believed to be constant decay rates - again, with solar periodicity. What's up with that? Maybe solar neutrinos are the culprit. Maybe some undiscovered subatomic particle is the cause. Variable constants and maybe even undiscovered subatomic particles from the Sun? Either one can turn physics on its head, and who knows where that might lead? (To astrology, maybe?) In any case, one thing is clear: phsyics shows that the Sun reaches down into every atom on this planet. (As above, so below.)
