Did quark matter strike Earth?

The following article from BBC News discusses the possibility of a strange type of quark matter that is so dense that it may pass through Earth and cause seismic events. Here are two excerpts that caught my attention:

The so-called strange quark matter is so dense that a piece the size of a human cell would weigh a tonne.

According to Harvard physicist and Nobel Laureate Sheldon Glashow:

He calculated that strange quark particles would dash through Earth with dramatic effect: a one-tonne spec would release the energy of a 50-kilotonne nuclear bomb, spread along its entire path through the Earth.

Did quark matter strike Earth?

Here is the original article from SMUNews (1992) which BBC News borrows from:

SMU Researchers describe two seismic events with the properties for the passage of strange quark matter through Earth


This is quite an intriguing theory and if true may explain some of the strange seismic events that happen on Earth that are not part of the normal geology. Although the original article is almost 20 years old, I could not find any previous thread that mentions this. Please discuss and contribute any new relevant information.

reply to post by Kratos40


I never knew anything like this ever existed. It i wonder if it would break up passing through the atmosphere. I doubt it though by the sounds of it this stuff appears to be very tough.

Thank you for sharing.

reply to post by Kratos40


As an aside I wonder if these types of impacts do occur, then should we be worried about the man-made particle collisions that are being produced at CERN? Things to ponder.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by Kratos40

 

I never knew anything like this ever existed. It i wonder if it would break up passing through the atmosphere. I doubt it though by the sounds of it this stuff appears to be very tough.

Thank you for sharing.

The only thing I have read is that neutrinos can pass through Earth but these particles are not very dense. I believe they call them "ghost" particles. The only other matter that sounds similar is what makes up quasars. A teaspoon of matter from a quasar can weigh a few tons according to physicists.

Interesting,,,maybe the Moon too
www.bu.edu...

Something strange, from outside our solar system, may be crashing into the moon and triggering "moonquakes." A new analysis of seismic data from the moon suggests that exotic, theoretical particles called "strange quark matter" might sometimes be to blame.

Originally posted by Pauligirl

Interesting,,,maybe the Moon too
www.bu.edu...

Something strange, from outside our solar system, may be crashing into the moon and triggering "moonquakes." A new analysis of seismic data from the moon suggests that exotic, theoretical particles called "strange quark matter" might sometimes be to blame.

Thanks Pauligirl. I didn't realize that scientists were also using Moonquake data to look into this strange phenomenon.

reply to post by Kratos40


not quasars
you mean neutron stars, white dwarf matter is pretty dense too.

yeah, I was just about to say he probably meant Neutron Stars (most dense) or White Dwarf (slightly less dense) and not quasar since thats a spinning black hole. Then again a tea spoonful of black hole matter would be pretty heavy too, if the singularity is even as big as a teasoon....

reply to post by Kratos40


Just outta curiosity but if this is true then why are there not millions of people just instantly exploding infront of other people? Surely they are hit by these quarks that weigh a ton aswell?

if i remember rightly... it's been proposed that these Quarks and other exotic subatomic
matter like Muons are released by black holes...
and some have thought that any Galactic SuperWave would contain these Quarks
along with the gamma ray energies....

yeah, this stuff is 20 years old or thereabouts...but these ideas are considered outlandish
by mainstream science... relegated to the dustbin file.....
that is until the Earth gets blasted or Earth is spared and another planet is hammered
unexpectedly

Originally posted by Pauligirl

Interesting,,,maybe the Moon too
www.bu.edu...

Something strange, from outside our solar system, may be crashing into the moon and triggering "moonquakes." A new analysis of seismic data from the moon suggests that exotic, theoretical particles called "strange quark matter" might sometimes be to blame.

you did notice its from 2006 right?

reply to post by heineken


I fail to see how that article being 5 years old changes the validity of what it says? It certainly goes along with the theory.

S&F OP this is really interesting! Makes ya wonder how much more stuff is out there we havent even imagined yet.

S & F for you. The idea that a "strangelet" or "strange matter" might damage our Earth is very interesting to say the least. Read the book "Impact" by Douglas Preston--deals directly with this article. The idea that strange matter is out there is scary--if something big enough hit us we would be gone in less than a second and the power of the explosion could destroy the rest of the solar system.

i am not a scientist at least not professionally. but if i understand the way this works matter in a neutron star is made up of matter under such extreme pressure and gravity that the atoms electon shells have collapsed and the neutrons of the atoms touch one another . well lets say a piece of said neutron star broke off some how would it not since its under extreme pressure and gravity being freed not explosively decompress?

Originally posted by DerepentLEstranger
reply to post by Kratos40

 

not quasars
you mean neutron stars, white dwarf matter is pretty dense too.

Yes, thank you for the clarification. The matter that makes up neutron stars is very, very dense. There are so many different massive bodies in our universe I get them confused. One article I read a few years ago hypothesized that there were planet sized object made up of diamond. That boggled my mind. Thank you for contributing.

Originally posted by jrmcleod
reply to post by Kratos40

 

Just outta curiosity but if this is true then why are there not millions of people just instantly exploding infront of other people? Surely they are hit by these quarks that weigh a ton aswell?

From what I read, these type of particles are very rare and so the probability is miniscule that some person would be hit by one of these. Planet Earth is pretty big.

I've read that the LHC can release this "quark matter" seems like a very good material to use for bombs if you can take control of it. I've also read that it can absorb normal matter so in theory it could absorb the earth and possibly much more.

Originally posted by VonDoomen
reply to post by heineken

 

I fail to see how that article being 5 years old changes the validity of what it says? It certainly goes along with the theory.

S&F OP this is really interesting! Makes ya wonder how much more stuff is out there we havent even imagined yet.

Since this is such a rare event, it is very difficult to gather enough (and continuous) information in order to fully elucidate that this particles can cause seismic events in our planet. My biggest fear when pondering about such things is that a wandering cloud of anti-matter may pass through our solar system and destroy us or severely disrupt our planetary orbits.

Originally posted by heineken

Originally posted by Pauligirl

Interesting,,,maybe the Moon too
www.bu.edu...

Something strange, from outside our solar system, may be crashing into the moon and triggering "moonquakes." A new analysis of seismic data from the moon suggests that exotic, theoretical particles called "strange quark matter" might sometimes be to blame.

you did notice its from 2006 right?

The age of the article does not matter. I decided to post this information because I read about this in a recent BBC news article that was plagiarizing on a Southern Methodist University article from 1992. I have never heard of such particles causing seismic events and when I searched ATS to see if anyone had ever posted information on them, there was none. Obviously, from some of the comments on here there are a few of us that have never heard of this phenomena and my main premise is to inform people.

Originally posted by CDN King
I've read that the LHC can release this "quark matter" seems like a very good material to use for bombs if you can take control of it. I've also read that it can absorb normal matter so in theory it could absorb the earth and possibly much more.

edit on 30-1-2011 by CDN King because: (no reason given)

I guess one could if it was the quark that had -, +, and sideways properties. Having more properties makes these particles much more dense and massive.