The Speed of Physics
How fast does the physics community generate solutions to fundamental problems?
Physicists tend to be very resourceful people. If a standard model puzzle resists solution for multiple decades a major paradigm shift may be about to happen.
Examples:
Atomic stability:
Maxwell's equations (1875) implied that atoms would be unstable. The solution was quantum mechanics (Bohr 1913).
Solar Physics:
Solar neutrino deficit (Ray Davis 1960) led to discovery of neutrino masses and mixing (SNO 2002).
Galactic Structure:
Anomalous rotation curves (Oort 1932) led to Dark Matter (Rubin 1965).
Some Open Puzzles that may lead to radical new physics:
Fermion Mass Problem, u-d quark mass inversion (1975) -> ?
Why is the up quark lighter than the down quark ?
Hawking radiation information paradox (Hawking 1975) -> ?
Hawking radiation has caused more trouble for physics theory than any other unconfirmed phenomena.
Supernova Ia puzzle (Whelan & Iben 1973) -> ?
-> Phase transition in dense matter?
More recent puzzle:
Cosmological measure problem, entropy problem, initial state problem, Hubble constant anomaly ->?
-> cosmological inhomogeneity?
Physicists tend to be very resourceful people. If a standard model puzzle resists solution for multiple decades a major paradigm shift may be about to happen.
Examples:
Atomic stability:
Maxwell's equations (1875) implied that atoms would be unstable. The solution was quantum mechanics (Bohr 1913).
Solar Physics:
Solar neutrino deficit (Ray Davis 1960) led to discovery of neutrino masses and mixing (SNO 2002).
Galactic Structure:
Anomalous rotation curves (Oort 1932) led to Dark Matter (Rubin 1965).
Some Open Puzzles that may lead to radical new physics:
Fermion Mass Problem, u-d quark mass inversion (1975) -> ?
Why is the up quark lighter than the down quark ?
Hawking radiation information paradox (Hawking 1975) -> ?
Hawking radiation has caused more trouble for physics theory than any other unconfirmed phenomena.
Supernova Ia puzzle (Whelan & Iben 1973) -> ?
-> Phase transition in dense matter?
More recent puzzle:
Cosmological measure problem, entropy problem, initial state problem, Hubble constant anomaly ->?
-> cosmological inhomogeneity?
