Re: [Phys-L] muon g minus 2 ... and neutron lifetime

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

In addition to the previous citations:

> > https://www.livescience.com/muon-wobble-could-break-physics.html
> Yeah, that's amusing.
>
> Upstream reference:
>   https://news.fnal.gov/2021/04/first-results-from-fermilabs-muon-g-2-experiment-strengthen-evidence-of-new-physics/

There is also this:
  https://physics.aps.org/articles/v14/47

It's in cartoon format, but it conveys a good bit of the physics,
more than you might expect. It might be helpful for students at
the less-advanced levels.
 ++ It shows the instrument taking a circuitous route via the
  Mississippi river, which is indeed what happened.
 -- OTOH it tacitly suggests that g=2 for the electron, which
  is not correct.

========================

While we are on the topic of unsettled "issues" in physics, there's
also the neutron lifetime issue. A sane discussion can be found here:
  https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/mystery-neutron-lifetime

«how long the neutron takes to fall apart presents a bit of a mystery. One method measures it as 887.7 seconds, plus or minus 2.2 seconds. Another method measures it as 878.5 seconds, plus or minus 0.8 second. At first, this difference seemed to be a matter of measurement sensitivity. It may be just that. But as scientists continue to perform a series of ever-more-precise experiments to evaluate possible issues, the discrepancy remains.

This persistence leads to the possibility that the difference is pointing to some type of unknown physics. It could be revealing an unknown process in neutron decay. Or it could be pointing to science beyond the Standard Model scientists currently use to explain all of particle physics. There are a number of phenomena that the Standard Model doesn’t fully explain and this difference could point the way towards answering those questions.»