Following the progress of the LHC and what goes on at CERN is fascinating, it is one of the few places in the World where cutting edge physics by real scientists takes place, they are trying to unlock the secrets of the Universe and it has some interesting by-products:
Cosmic rays and cloud formation (CERN)
CLOUD is an experiment that uses a cloud chamber to study the possible link between galactic cosmic rays and cloud formation. Based at the Proton Synchrotron at CERN, this is the first time a high-energy physics accelerator has been used to study atmospheric and climate science; the results could greatly modify our understanding of clouds and climate.
Cosmic rays are charged particles that bombard the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. Studies suggest they may have an influence on the amount of cloud cover through the formation of new aerosols (tiny particles suspended in the air that seed cloud droplets). This is supported by satellite measurements, which show a possible correlation between cosmic-ray intensity and the amount of low cloud cover. Clouds exert a strong influence on the Earth’s energy balance; changes of only a few per cent have an important effect on the climate. Understanding the underlying microphysics in controlled laboratory conditions is a key to unravelling the connection between cosmic rays and clouds. continues
I can't find the results, but I believe that the theory was born out by the initial experiment which is why they're building a bigger and better one. The results should blow the CO2 lobby away like so much hot air:
The initial stage of the experiment uses a prototype detector, but the full CLOUD experiment will include an advanced cloud chamber and a reactor chamber, equipped with a wide range of external instrumentation to monitor and analyse their contents. The temperature and pressure conditions anywhere in the atmosphere can be re-created within the chambers, and all experimental conditions can be controlled and measured, including the ‘cosmic ray’ intensity and the contents of the chambers.
CLOUD and Initial CLOUD proposal
Nothing should be decided at The Copenhagen (collectivisation of the World) conference, or anywhere else until the results of these experiments are known.
You can't argue with real physics.
Update: CERN has kindly provided some further links:
- Latest article on CLOUD
- Scientific motivation (Ed's note: apply some real science to the issue)
- Results from 2006 pilot run (Ed's note: it's true, now it just needs checking)
- CERN colloquim (slides and movies)
5 comments:
This experiment was run by Svensmark back in 2007, who coined the term Cosmoclimatology. Strangely enough it was rebuked by the 'AGW' crowd.
The principle attacks their very notion that CO2 forces the global temperature.
I wonder what their defence is now that the truth is starting to come out, and their pathetic arguments are unravelling 'fast' - or at least as fast as the MSM are willing to admit that their backed horse is wrong!
Fascinating stuff, thank you.
Did anyone see they wheeled out that old wrinklie Bianca Jagger on the Daily Politics yesterday when she tried to promote the government line? Pathetic stuff.
Subrosa, yes, and she was ghastly, made up facts and all sorts of nonsense such as labelling the recent floods a result of global warming. Stunningly stupid.
Neil looked embarassed.
Here is part of a piece I wrote 3 years ago to help my family understand the issues.
It would probably not surprise even the least scientific amongst us to be told that clouds, especially low clouds, have a considerable effect upon the weather and the temperature. It might not even be surprising to learn that climate models, from those that produce local forecasts to those used in GCMs, are unable to estimate precisely the occurrence, or not, of such clouds. We would also have observed that cirrus and alto layers have little effect upon weather except sometimes as signaling frontal approach.
So clouds may make weather but what makes clouds? It is quite simple; air, saturated or supersaturated with water and nucleation. The question remains; are clouds the result of global weather events or the cause of them?
Henrik Svensmark began to contemplate this question in the early 1990s and in 1996 began to correlate Simpson’s neutron count data from Climax, CO with Rossow’s compilation of cloud data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. The correlation was remarkable and the data from 1983 to 1994 indicated that the low clouds (the tropospheric clouds below 10,000 feet) had the best correlation, about 92%. This answered one question but triggered more, as well as a vituperatively dismissive series of attacks from the climatologists of the CO2 religion which by this time was huge and hugely funded. Svensmark tried to publish his findings in the usual scientific journals and also to interest the UN’s IPCC in the idea but he was rejected and told the idea was “naïve and extremely irresponsible”. This is an extraordinary view to take of a research proposal and illustrates the hold the anthropogenic global warming (AGM) hypothesis has on the minds and pocketbooks of much of the climate research world not to mention the politicians and the media. It was just one of many ad hominem attacks made upon these researchers.
It is wonderful to see that CERN will now do some serious science. Congratulations to Kirkby et al
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