[time-nuts] Eclipses and atomic clocks

[Bill Hawkins]

There is an article in the Nov 22, 2008, issue of Science News
(www.sciencenews.org) about variations in the decay rate of 
radioactive atoms. The title is "Half-life (More or Less)"
where "more or less" is an idiom for "approximately."

There is no explanation for the observed variation. As you might
expect, not everyone sees the variation, but Brookhaven in the
US and PTB in Germany observed a few parts per 1000 annual
variation. One possibility is the distance from the sun. Another
is the change in seasons.

Peter Cooper, of Fermi Lab, says, "Every experimentalist knows
that the apparatus, or at least your understanding of it, is
always at fault until demonstrated otherwise." He also says,
"Nature is really unmoved by what I, or anyone else, believes."

Bill Hawkins