So it turns out the world of itty bitty things holds further surprises. The proton is now known to be about 4% smaller than previously thought (radius-wise), which is apparently a big enough deal to warrant concerns about having to recalculate basic physical formulae. Unsurprisingly (as it appears to be something that’s done a lot), scientists discovered this by shooting lasers at stuff—specifically, an exotic hydrogen atom. So why is this a big deal? According to the article, “…either the theory governing how light and matter interact (called quantum electrodynamics, or QED) must be revised, or a constant used in many fundamental calculations is wrong.”

FREAKING PROTONS, MAN, GUMMING UP THE SYSTEM.

Quine would have something major to say about this. Things like this really make me want to go into philosophy of science.

Today’s song: The World I Know by Collective Soul