An interesting contribution to the various discussions of tides on this
list is quoted in this month's (Sep, 1996) The Physics Teacher, p. 357:
Lunar Tidal Effects! ...
"Lunar tidal effects are the main cause of error in
determining the mass of the Z boson. Scientists at
the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, with help
from workers at SLAC and the University of Lausanne,
have found that the Moon's gravitational pull warps
the LEP (Large Electron Positron) collider by as much
a millimeter (out of a total circumference of 27 km).
This blurs the Z mass estimates by about 10 MeV.
Hereafter, calibrations of the beam energy will take
into account the phase of the Moon."
The quotation is from a CERN press release dated Nov. 23, 1992.
A. R. Marlow E-MAIL: marlow@beta.loyno.edu
Department of Physics PHONE: (504) 865 3647 (Office)
Loyola University 865 2245 (Home)
New Orleans, LA 70118 FAX: (504) 865 2453