Showing papers by "Joel R. Primack published in 1980"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered the theoretical observation that gauge symmetries are generally restored at sufficiently high temperature and showed that the photon mass is negligible for T > 27 K ∼10−4 eV and mγ below some low temperature T 0 Above this phase transition temperature, the photon would be strictly massless.
Abstract: The theoretical observation that gauge symmetries are generally restored at sufficiently high temperature has led us to consider here the conjecture that gauge symmetries are broken at sufficiently low temperature The photon, for example, would then acquire a non-zero mass mγ below some low temperature T0 Above this phase-transition temperature, the photon would be strictly massless Present observational limits on the photon mass show only that mγ is negligible for T > 27 K ∼10−4 eV Although we have not discovered any plausible mechanism for electromagnetic gauge-symmetry breaking and therefore cannot estimate T0 or mγ, there is a considerable range of experimentally accessible low temperatures for which there are no stringent constraints on mγ Non-zero gluon or graviton masses at low temperatures could also have observable consequences
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a tentative plan for discussion at government-funded forums to which expert comment and analysis can be contributed by interested members of the public, and a set of criteria is set out which must satisfy the public before nuclear waste management will be accepted.
Abstract: The participation of an educated and informed public in government decisions adds legitimacy to policies and can result in better balanced decisions. Public discussion on the nuclear-waste question may have been frustrated by asking the wrong questions. Public suspicion of the government's ability and intentions in regard to nuclear waste disposal should be addressed by presenting a complete tentative plan for discussion at government-funded forums to which expert comment and analysis can be contributed by interested members of the public. Examples from past hearings illustrate how public confusion has been perpetuated and the big picture has been lost. A set of criteria is set out which must satisfy the public before nuclear waste management will be accepted. Much of the present confusion is due to the separation of issues instead of recognizing the interconnections of decisions. (DCK)
8 citations
4 citations