From: nospam@de-ster.demon.nl   
      
   Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)    
   wrote:   
      
   > Not much effort is put into confirming or refuting undisputed results or   
   > expectations, but occasionally it does happen.  For example, according   
   > to theory muons are supposed to be essentially just like electrons but   
   > heavier, but there seems to be experimental evidence that that is not   
   > the case, presumably because someone decided to look for it.   
   >   
   > What about even more-basic stuff?  For example, over what range (say,   
   > multiple or fraction of the peak wavelength) has the Planck black-body   
   > radiation law been experimentally verified?   
      
   Very well, given that the cosmic black body radiation has been measured   
   in great detail to better than a millikelvin.   
      
   >  Or that radioactive decay   
   > really follows an exponential law?  Or that the various forms (weak,   
   > strong, Einstein) of the equivalence principle hold?   
      
   Eotvos also has been verified to grat precision.   
      
   > I realize that it is difficult to get funding for things like those, but   
   > at least in some cases the corresponding experiment shouldn't be too   
   > expensive.   
      
   You should realise that a lot of that testing is implicit.   
   The design of all experiments takes the laws of physics,   
   as we know them, for granted.   
   If there really is something wrong with those laws   
   the experiments would not behave as expected,   
   and then people would start to search for causes.   
      
   For example, LIGO takes general and special relativity for granted.   
   So there really is no point in wringing yet another verification   
   of Michelson-Morley out of it. (and others can do it much better)   
   A mention in Guiness book of records as the largest M&M experiment ever   
   really isn't worth the trouble.   
      
   Moreover, confirming the well-known is not without risk.   
   If you fail to obtain the 'right' result   
   people will not doubt the result,   
   they will doubt your competence as an experimentalist.   
      
   You can think of the Italian 'speed of neutrinos' experiment   
   that found greater than light speeds from CERN to Gran Sasso   
   as a particularly sad example.   
   'Everybody' with standing told them that this just cannot be right.   
   And indeed it wasn't, and the team leader resigned in disgrace,   
      
   Jan   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)