Breakdown Of The Equivalence Principle?

[Aethelwulf]

Not too long ago, we have seen evidence suggesting that perhaps the fine structure constant had varied. There is now evidence that the proton-electron mass ratio has varied slightly in the last 7 billion years...

 

http://saypeople.com/2012/12/14/proton-to-electron-mass-ratio-has-been-very-slightly-changed-in-7-billion-years/#ixzz2EzXvf3Hv

 

It is such a small variation, I wonder if there is something faulty in the experiment.

[CraigD]

It is such a small variation, I wonder if there is something faulty in the experiment.

I think there's something faulty in the writing of the saypeople.com article!

 

It begins

Scientists have found that the constant i.e. the ratio of the mass of a proton to the mass of an electron has been very slightly changed...

then continues to quote the cited Science article

“Based on radio-astronomical observations of PKS1830-211, we deduced a constraint of ∆μ/μ = (0.0 ± 1.0) × 10

⁻⁷

at redshift z = 0.89, corresponding to a look-back time of 7 billion years. This is consistent with a null result.”

which is saying that astrophysicist Wim Ubachs and team have shown, to the limits of their observational and experimental accuracy, that ∆μ/μ has not changes in 7 billion years.

 

I would expect that even a non-science literate blogger would not get "have found ... very slightly changed" from "consistent with a null result", but the anonymous writer of this article seems to have done just that. Bad blogger! :naughty:

[Aethelwulf]

Very good yes, nice to see someone is awake, I never saw that comment. :)