[QUOTE=chalsall;426013]Might it be possible the particles change their state during the experiment?

Might it depend on how things are measured?[/QUOTE]

You talking about neutrinos? If so, I am sure a few hours browsing Wikipedia should answer most of your questions. Do a web search for 'solar neutrino problem'.

With regard to the 'dissipative waves?' question, that also appears to be a 'no', based on the fact that the LIGOers were able to confidently infer the parameters of the merger from the strength of the signal (unless they can do so strictly based the frequency spectrum of same rather than amplitude). I.e. any dissipation based on interaction with intervening matter is so weak as to be negligible, either because there is too little stuff between there and here and/or because the g-waves are dissipation-free in their interactions with 'stuff'. The latter also seems to make sense from a 'ripples in the fabric of spacetime' sense, since I don't recall seeing a friction term in Herr Einstein's field equations. ;)

OTOH I believe the frequency spectrum of the event's signal would be red-shifted to the same degree that any light reaching us from that far-away/long-ago would be.

[QUOTE=chalsall;426001]You know, now that you mention it, my left front filling is feeling a little loose. Interestingly, its a composite filling.

I just thought it predicted future rainfall, just like the pain in my right knee....[/QUOTE]You should calculate the GW effect on your fillings if that collision had occurred a light year away. Assume no other form of energy was emitted. Simple mental arithmetic should be sufficient.

It's the sort of thing I do when lying in bed trying to get to sleep.

[QUOTE=xilman;426049]You should calculate the GW effect on your fillings if that collision had occurred a light year away. Assume no other form of energy was emitted. Simple mental arithmetic should be sufficient.[/QUOTE]

To put things in perspective, a Type Ia accreting-white-dwarf-binary 'standard candle' supernova emits ~10^44 J, corresponding to a mass equivalent m = E/c^2 = 10^44 kg.m^2/s^2 / (3e8 m/s)^2 ~= 1e27 kg, roughly 1/2000th of a solar mass. A type II (massive blue giant core-collapse) supernova releases ~100x more energy than a Ia, but still significantly less than 1 solar mass worth.

Would heating through gravitational stress, as happens with gas giant moons, be an example of conversion to other forms of energy?

[QUOTE=kladner;426081]Would heating through gravitational stress, as happens with gas giant moons, be an example of conversion to other forms of energy?[/QUOTE]

Indeed it would - the question is, are such distortions in the fabric of spacetime itself 'stressful' or conservative? And even if there is net energy transfer, is it insignificant once the waves get spread out to the miniscule tiny-fraction-of-a-proton-width amplitudes reported by the LIGO folks?

[QUOTE=ewmayer;426140]Indeed it would - the question is, are such distortions in the fabric of spacetime itself 'stressful' or conservative? And even if there is net energy transfer, is it insignificant once the waves get spread out to the miniscule tiny-fraction-of-a-proton-width amplitudes reported by the LIGO folks?[/QUOTE]

I am still trying to learn what specific terminology means in this context. However, I [I]can[/I] appreciate the difference in effect between orbiting Jupiter, and receiving the remnant of an immense series of pulses a billion light years away.

xkcd on the gravitational internet
 

[url]http://www.xkcd.com/1642/[/url]

No protons needed? Possible discovery of a four-neutron particle
 

I wonder if [URL="http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/no-protons-needed-possible-discovery-of-a-four-neutron-particle/"]this particle[/URL] is present in neutron star material?
[QUOTE]It’s tempting to call the tetraneutron a theoretical particle, as its existence has yet to be confirmed. But that would imply that it’s a consequence of some existing theoretical model, that it’s predicted by some theory. The tetraneutron, however, contradicts the relevant theories—it should be impossible.

And yet, amidst all the (deserved) excitement for the detection of gravitational waves last week, an experiment quietly turned up the strongest evidence for a tetraneutron thus far. It’s not full confirmation yet, but if the new study’s conclusions are borne out, things are going to get weird.
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=kladner;426665]I wonder if [URL="http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/no-protons-needed-possible-discovery-of-a-four-neutron-particle/"]this particle[/URL] is present in neutron star material?[/QUOTE]Given that neutron star material is believed to consist of a mix of neutrons and neutron-rich nuclei in varying proportions, I suspect the answer is similar to that of "Does (H[sub]2[/sub]O)[sub]4[/sub] exist in liquid water?".

[url]http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/apollo-10-astronauts-heard-odd-music-on-far-side-of-moon-160222.htm[/url]

[QUOTE]“Shall we tell about it?” an astronaut asks.

“I don’t know,” another replies. “We ought to think about it.”[/QUOTE]

Interesting. We found[URL="http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/02/12/birds-might-be-purposely-starting-wildfires-in-australia.html"] this one[/URL], following a link on your link.
It says that some clever birds of pray in Australia can - on purpose - start a fire in a forest, by transporting burning materials from far away, to scare off their pray.

[QUOTE]birds of prey are known to hunt around the edges of wildfires—which force small animals to flee their hiding places—but those fires don't always start where the food is. That's why brown falcons and black kites are apparently picking up burning sticks and dropping them elsewhere to start new fires. Bob Gosford, a lawyer who works with Australia's aboriginal people, has collected 15 accounts of birds starting fires, a behavior that is referenced in at least one old aboriginal ceremony.
[/QUOTE]

Now, we don't know about falcons and eagles there, but I can tell you for sure, the common chicken can start a big fire by its own. The proof: every time when we buy a chicken, there is a big fire starting in our house, for bar-b-q... :sirrobin: