Sounds interesting...I'm really curious what is behind the diameter difference and I can't wait to see the results of the LHC when they'll fire it up...thanks for posting the news!
Big hole in the standard model
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Interesting to see what camps people are in. It's very common for most people to be against the standard model. I would probably agree.
Jul 9, 2010
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It's generally agreed it is not the final theory, but I have never before heard of such a glaring empirical discrepancy (if it turns out not to be a large error in the earlier experiment, or maybe poorly implemented models, as used for the calculations). However it does most things very well.
Experiments have been done to measure the diameter of the proton by its subtle effect on the energy levels in both normal hydrogen atoms and in atoms where the electron has been replaced by a meson. Surprisingly, the measured diameters differ by 4%. As this is much greater than experimental accuracy, the models used for the interaction of these simple particles appear to be wrong. Nobel prize probably available for anyone who can fix them.
See wired magazine article.