Glue balls as dark matter?

[silverpig]

We need a physics thread. Whatcha think?



PS: glueballs are balls of gluons stuck to themselves.

 

[DrPizza]

Just curious... are "glue balls" something theoretically suggested? Or just some nonsense that you made up?
(Once you get to the quantum level, sometimes it's difficult to discern the difference between the two!)

Edit: Nevermind... I found some sources and started reading. Tis my prep period and this will fit into the next unit (and last unit of the year) that I have to teach - modern physics. The final exam (NYS Regents) questions in this area are a piece of cake - at a level that makes it hard to understand what the point of the unit is. ex) Protons are composed of a) 1 neutron and 1 antielectron b) 2 quarks c) 3 quarks d) 4 quarks

Thats about as hard as they get. Or, "which of the following is an example of a Hadron" and they have a reference table that they can look at to see.

I could cover everything on the state exam in one period, but I'm going to spend at least 2 weeks on the unit, supplementing it with info/labs on the standard model, particle accelerators, and just about anything that I feel may be interesting to the students.

 

[silverpig]

Glueballs are theoretically possible at this point. Quarks are, well, quarks, and gluons stick them together. Quarks have a colour charge (RGB) as well as electric charge (+/-). All particles in nature are inherently colourless (either red-antired (same with blue, and green) mesons of two quarks or a red quark, blue quark, and green quark bound together to make a white particle). Gluons also carry colour, one unit of colour and one of anti-colour (like a red-antiblue gluon), and that is why you never see them bare... However, because gluons are attracted to colour charge, and carry colour themselves, they can stick to one another. A possible glueball would be one red-antiblue coupled to a blue-antired, giving a net colourless charge.

These particles would be electrically neutral and probably massive (gluons themselves are massless, but the energy contained in their binding would give a glueball mass).

 

[Geniere]

That?s why I only use Electrons in my work. I don?t want to be bothered gluing Quarks together. I am considering using Strings to bind my Quarks should the need arise. If I had a Brane, I probably would not have responded to this thread.

I second the physics thread idea.

 

[gsellis]

No, not a physics thread. My head already hurts.

Anyway, everyone knows that muons look like sheep, so it does not matter anymore.

 

[wacki]

Originally posted by: Geniere
That?s why I only use Electrons in my work. I don?t want to be bothered gluing Quarks together. I am considering using Strings to bind my Quarks should the need arise. If I had a Brane, I probably would not have responded to this thread.

I second the physics thread idea.

Besides the fact that you spelled brain "BRANE" (don't worry I do it to) you've always had very knowledgeable and helpfull posts. Just curious, what do you do for a living?


I'm guessing you're joking about the whole "using Strings to bind my Quarks" thing.

 

[Geniere]

Actually "brane" is correct in the context of little pun I was trying to make. Brane is incorporated in forms of String Theory.

I don't like to provide much personal info on an open forum, but I have some small expertise in electronics. Right now I need only baby-sit my grandchildren to keep busy.

 

[glugglug]

any good site recommendations to learn about these quantum particles?

 

[silverpig]

The string theory website might have some interesting stuff for ya

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: glugglug
any good site recommendations to learn about these quantum particles?

I'd highly recommend this place as a starting point. It's explained fairly well in terms that high school students can understand. Plus, they provide a lot of links to other good sites.