A starting read for my EPQ topic. The idea of a magnetic monopole seems to intrinsic and sensical, but truly considering how it could be found in the world brings about so many questions.
may be too heavy to be currently created with particle colliders
were thought to be in iron initially
Maxwell: if the motion of electrically charged particles makes a magnetic field, would a magnetic monopole make the same?
charge x pole strength = 1/2
conservation of pole strength--cannot disappear unless a n equally, and oppositely charged monopole cancels it out
pole strength of a monopole must be quantised = 1/root(137)
heavier than any elementary particle discovered
3x more heavy than a proton [experimentally]
different kinds--spin, nuclear charge etc.
could be ideal projectiles for accelerators; high energy & mass, extracted from target for use again. Would be sustainable
could be trapped from space when entering the earth's atmosphere, in iron (and other magnetic materials)
EXTRACTION= pull out using magnetic field, or destroy the magnetism of the material
identification would be easy-rapid loss of energy=nuclear photographic emulsion track is HEAVY
maybe a molecule is formed due to oxygen molecules surrounding it? maybe its attracted to the nuclear magnetic force in an atom?
A similar situation to the the suspicion and doubt with the "law of strangeness" and conservation of number --one cannot vanish without another appearing (muons, neutrinos etc.) [the Two Neutrinos Experiment by Leon M. Lederman]
Due to quantum mechanics introducing probability, there are lots of ways a MM could break down, so there's not a surefire way that they could be detected--could be by chance, we could've already seen the aftermath [eg broken down into muons, neutrinos etc.] and not been aware of it.
theory about symmetry is seen in the verified theory of relativity, giving some hope to the MMs.
overall, it's worrisome as it brings some doubt to Dirac's laws and Maxwell's equations; the whole field of EM.
ATTEMPTS TO CREATE in BNL, LI & CERN, GENEVA.
1) bombard target (thin plate of metal) with accelerator high energy proton beam
monopole hits 8 inch-thick oil container and is pulled up to the surface by a magnetic field & fly through the detector
scintillation chamber-liquid filled xenon tube emitting tiny flashes of light when particles pass through
nuclear emulsion-heavy tracks
2) monopole trap; pulsed EM exposed 5cm^2 of ore to 60000 Gauss
pulse of 1/10000th of a second, once per minute
accelerate monopoles through a nuclear-emmissions plate and re-trapped at the top of a vacuum chamber
none detected in 1000m^2 of the surface :(
therefore, monopoles must be more massive--in space perhaps?
60000 Gauss magnet & portable generating equipment in Adirondack Mountains, NY.
accelerate monopoles to >1 billion eV, nuclear emissions detector & retrap
It got me thinking; perhaps there's a slight point (like a billionth of a second), when cutting a magnet, that it becomes 2 monopoles in it's static state (since the movement of magnetic particles would give rise to to an electrical field). But then, when the 2 monopoles meet, they annihilate each other.
It also had me considering how philosophy, and social factors, can influence ideas too--just because it would fit Dirac's symmetry doesn't mean a monopole is a justified idea. Is there really any true 'evidence' for them beyond this?
