Best of Last Week – Dark matter hiding in stars, a new tree of life and smarter bike pedaling
(Phys.org)—It was another good week for physics as a team with members from Germany, Austria and Australia conducted the most precise test of Lorentz symmetry for a photon and found that the speed of light is, indeed, constant—no matter how fast you are moving or which direction. Also, another team reported on a study they have been conducting to determine if dark matter hiding in stars may cause observable oscillations—thus far, they have found that if dark matter does exist inside of stars, it likely would not cause them to collapse, indirect proof that it could exist there. And in another interesting study, a team of researchers described human decision making using quantum physics theory, suggesting that you are not irrational, you are just quantum probabilistic. They are hoping that applying physics to the way people make decisions can explain contradictions among behavioral studies.