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List of experimental errors and frauds in physics

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99:'s result was supposed to have settled the issue. Unfortunately, the measurement and the prediction were both in error such that it initially appeared to be valid. It is no longer considered credible and there has been much debate about whether the results were fraud or that his data may have been contaminated by stray light from 759:
deluded. A somewhat detailed report of the experiments which were shown to me, together with my own observations, may be of interest to the many physicists who have spent days and weeks in fruitless efforts to repeat the remarkable experiments which have been described in the scientific journals of the past year.
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mistakenly measured neutrinos appearing to travel faster than the speed of light. The results were published in September, noting that further investigation into systematics would be necessary. This investigation found an improperly connected fibre optic cable and a clock oscillator ticking too fast,
758:
After spending three hours or more in witnessing various experiments, I am not only unable to report a single observation which appeared to indicate the existence of the rays, but left with a very firm conviction that the few experimenters who have obtained positive results, have been in some way
1009:
So there matters stand: no cold fusion researcher has been able to dispel the stigma of "pathological science" by rigorously and reproducibly demonstrating effects sufficiently large to exclude the possibility of error (for example, by constructing a working power generator), nor does it seem
123:
in 1955 and later. Diamond synthesis was later determined to be impossible with the apparatus. Subsequent analysis indicated that the first gemstone (used to secure further funding) was natural rather than synthetic. Artificial diamonds have since been
160:, about 1,000 kilometers away, all for further isolation. He took extreme measures to isolate the equipment from seismic and other interferences, but Weber's criteria for data analysis turned out to be ill-defined and partly subjective. In 1974, 168:, but by the end of the 1970s, Weber's work was considered spurious as it could not be replicated by others. Still, Weber is considered one of the fathers of gravitational wave detection and inspiration for other projects such as 434:
could operate. The journal editors accompanied the paper with an editorial urging readers to "suspend judgement" until the results could be replicated. Benveniste's results failed to have been replicated in subsequent
195:
in 1976 appeared to indicate a new particle at about 6 GeV which decayed into electron-positron pairs. Subsequent data and analysis indicated that the apparent peak resulted from random noise. The name is a pun on
79:, it took a decade for the shortcomings of Kaufmann's test to be realised: during this time, critics of special relativity were able to claim that the theory was invalidated by the available experimental evidence. 331:
2 collaboration announced the detection of inflationary gravitational waves in the B-mode power spectrum, which if confirmed, would provide clear experimental evidence for the cosmological theory of
28:, is growing. Some errors are introduced when the experimenter's desire for a certain result unconsciously influences selection of data (a problem which is possible to avoid in some cases with 377:, a compound produced in the synthesis process, turned out to be a close match for the claimed properties of LK-99, and pure samples of LK-99 were insulators rather than any form of conductor. 1208: 335:. However, on 19 June 2014, lowered confidence in confirming the cosmic inflation findings was reported. Eventually, the initial findings were revealed to be artifacts of interstellar dust. 373:. Other research groups were not able to replicate the results and suggested that impurities in the material led to spurious effects mimicking phenomena associated with superconductivity. 405:
had been considered one of the best experimenters of his time until he was forced to admit that his notable track record was at least partly due to the fabrication of results.
1142:"LK-99 isn't a superconductor — how science sleuths solved the mystery: Replications pieced together the puzzle of why the material displayed superconducting-like behaviours" 1023: 1125: 528: 55:
A reported faint visual effect that experimenters could still "see" even when the supposed causative element in their apparatus had been secretly disconnected.
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consisting of two one ton aluminum bars, each a separate detector, in some configurations being hung within a vacuum chamber, or having one bar displaced to
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F. Wesemael, "A comment on Adams' measurement of the gravitational redshift of Sirius B", Royal Astronomical Society, Quarterly Journal (ISSN 0035-8738),
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See also Jeroen van Dongen, "Emil Rupp, Albert Einstein and the Canal Ray Experiments on Wave-Particle Duality: Scientific Fraud and Theoretical Bias"
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with copper. As evidence, they published conductivity measurements and a video showing partial levitation that the researchers claimed displayed the
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would host an invited symposium on cold fusion and low energy nuclear reactions at their national meeting for the first time in many years.
476:(oganesson) was announced, and then the announcement withdrawn by Berkeley after claims of irreproducibility. The researcher involved, 341: 294: 21: 983:
Labinger JA, Weininger SJ (2005). "Controversy in chemistry: how do you prove a negative?—the cases of phlogiston and cold fusion".
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of results, but many experiments are not repeatable due to fraud or error. The list of papers whose results were later
318: 153: 72: 241:, one in 1989 and a second in 2004, did not recommend a dedicated federal program for cold fusion research. In 2007, 1287: 953: 389: 248: 161: 238: 95:
A number of earlier experimenters claimed to have found the presence or lack of gravitational redshift, but
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Michael Brooks, on Emil Rupp, "Convenient untruths", New Scientist, No2630 (17 Nov 2007) pp. 58–59
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possible to conclude unequivocally that all the apparently anomalous behavior can be attributed to error.
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Adam, T. (2011). "Measurement of the neutrino velocity with the OPERA detector in the CNGS beam".
1255: 1169: 1105: 1078: 1054: 876: 816: 749: 421: 553: 1161: 1000: 935: 808: 578: 501: 374: 110: 1153: 1061: 1057: 992: 868: 851: 800: 770: 741: 724: 698: 568: 493: 451: 426: 355: 304: 242: 201: 533: 370: 25: 864: 796: 737: 694: 1292: 144:, reported the detection of 311 excitations on his test equipment designed to measure 71:
and said to be the first journal paper to cite Einstein's 1905 electrodynamics paper.
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Holberg, J. B. (2010). "Sirius B and the Measurement of the Gravitational Redshift".
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which together had caused an underestimate of uncertainty in the initial measurement.
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In 1970, Joseph Weber, an electrical engineer turned physicist and working with the
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F. P. Bundy; H. T. Hall; H. M. Strong; R. H. Wentorf (1955). "Man-Made Diamonds".
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stated that his results were not compatible with special relativity. According to
679:"Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World" 223: 1157: 804: 358:
led by Lee Sukbae and Kim Ji-Hoon announced the discovery of LK-99, a supposed
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A succession of high-profile peer-reviewed papers previously published by
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Members of the Heidelberg–Moscow collaboration claimed to have discovered
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and his collaborators claimed to have observed evidence of sonofusion or
192: 103:. The first "reliable" confirmations of the effect appeared in the 1960s. 100: 912: 207:, the principal investigator. The illusory particle is unrelated to the 1248:"At Lawrence Berkeley, Physicists Say a Colleague Took Them for a Ride" 961: 157: 703: 678: 872: 745: 1201:"LK-99: Mounting evidence suggests material is not a superconductor" 1110: 719: 1232: 345: 46: 954:"!! EXTRA!! FERMILAB EXPERIMENT DISCOVERS NEW PARTICLE "UPSILON"" 308: 169: 461:
were subsequently found to have used obviously fabricated data.
233:
in 1989, cold fusion has been considered to be an example of a
773:, "Einstein" (1973) pp.81–85 — Kaufmann experiment 597:"Problems with scientific research: How science goes wrong" 61:
Claimed experimental disproof of special relativity (1906)
1272:, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2008, Thomas H. Maugh II 1055:"Cold fusion is back at the American Chemical Society" 1024:"Report of the Review of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions" 32:
protocols). There have also been cases of deliberate
913:"Focus: A Fleeting Detection of Gravitational Waves" 162:
the first indirect detection of gravitational waves
174:first direct observation of gravitational waves 624:"Retracted Scientific Studies: A Growing List" 529:List of topics characterized as pseudoscience 430:which seemed to support a mechanism by which 200:, the proposed name for the new particle and 8: 1270:Purdue physicist found guilty of misconduct 508:for "falsification of the research record". 672: 670: 327:On March 17, 2014, astrophysicists of the 1109: 1029:. Washington, DC: doe.gov. Archived from 702: 650:"Science's problem with unconscious bias" 572: 897:, "Errors in diamond synthesis", Nature 445:Organic molecular semiconductors (~1999) 544: 524:List of scientific misconduct incidents 211:, discovered in 1977 by the same group. 936:"How I Discovered Gravitational Waves" 467:Early production of element 118 (1999) 901:19 (1993) "Scientific Correspondence" 164:was confirmed from observations of a 7: 785:Journal for the History of Astronomy 1246:George Johnson (October 15, 2002). 1180:from the original on 17 August 2023 382:Alleged scientific misconduct cases 1211:from the original on 9 August 2023 1022:U.S. Department of Energy (2004). 504:review board judged him guilty of 342:Room-temperature superconductivity 295:Faster-than-light neutrino anomaly 14: 718:Wood, R.W. (29 September 1904). 552:Norton, John D. (20 June 2015). 132:detection of gravitational waves 24:or discredited, thus leading to 1233:https://arxiv.org/abs/0709.3099 1140:Garisto, Dan (16 August 2023). 942:(100th Anniversary issue): 106. 648:Chapman, Kit; Lalloo, Manisha. 622:Rosten, Michael (28 May 2015). 360:room-temperature superconductor 268:neutrino-less double beta decay 1079:"Cold fusion back on the menu" 500:. An investigation in 2008 by 480:, denies doing anything wrong. 258:Neutrinoless double beta decay 85:Premature verification of the 1: 554:"Replicability of Experiment" 237:. Two panels convened by the 16:Experimental science demands 1199:Padavic-Callaghan, Karmela. 911:Lindley, D. (Dec 22, 2005). 319:Cosmic microwave background 154:Argonne National Laboratory 1314: 1158:10.1038/d41586-023-02585-7 805:10.1177/002182861004100102 492:In 2002, nuclear engineer 449: 229:Since the announcement of 221: 40:Famous experimental errors 677:Sarachik, Miriam (2009). 249:American Chemical Society 1126:"OPERA: What Went Wrong" 1077:Van Noorden, R. (2007). 354:In July 2023, a team at 239:US Department of Energy 119:Originally reported in 997:10.1002/anie.200462084 985:Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 934:Weber, J. (May 1972). 837:, Sept. 1985, 273–278 142:University of Maryland 87:gravitational redshift 1129:profmattstrassler.com 1124:Strassler, M. (2012) 1066:10.1038/news070326-12 1060:News, 29 March 2007, 574:10.1387/theoria.12691 424:published a paper in 390:wave–particle duality 34:scientific misconduct 420:French immunologist 235:pathological science 231:Pons and Fleischmann 1298:Physics experiments 964:on 11 November 2019 865:1955Natur.176...51B 797:2010JHA....41...41H 738:1904Natur..70..530W 695:2009PhT....62j..57R 519:Academic dishonesty 506:research misconduct 321:polarization (2014) 146:gravitational waves 109:First reproducible 97:Walter Sydney Adams 1256:The New York Times 654:chemistryworld.com 628:The New York Times 422:Jacques Benveniste 396:experiments (1926) 247:reported that the 217:Cold fusion (1989) 183:Oops-Leon particle 69:Annalen der Physik 1288:Academic scandals 1152:(7975): 705–706. 732:(1822): 530–531. 704:10.1063/1.3248480 603:. 21 October 2013 502:Purdue University 486:Sonofusion (2002) 459:Jan Hendrik Schön 375:Copper(I) sulfide 172:, which made the 148:. He utilized an 111:synthetic diamond 1305: 1273: 1267: 1261: 1260: 1252: 1243: 1237: 1226: 1220: 1219: 1217: 1216: 1196: 1190: 1189: 1187: 1185: 1137: 1131: 1122: 1116: 1115: 1113: 1101: 1095: 1093: 1091: 1090: 1074: 1068: 1052: 1046: 1044: 1042: 1041: 1035: 1028: 1019: 1013: 1012: 980: 974: 973: 971: 969: 960:. Archived from 958:history.fnal.gov 950: 944: 943: 931: 925: 924: 917:Phys. Rev. Focus 908: 902: 891: 885: 884: 873:10.1038/176051a0 846: 840: 831: 825: 824: 780: 774: 771:Jeremy Bernstein 768: 762: 761: 746:10.1038/070530a0 715: 709: 708: 706: 674: 665: 664: 662: 660: 645: 639: 638: 636: 634: 619: 613: 612: 610: 608: 593: 587: 586: 576: 558: 549: 494:Rusi Taleyarkhan 356:Korea University 305:OPERA experiment 287: 286: 285: 278: 277: 1313: 1312: 1308: 1307: 1306: 1304: 1303: 1302: 1278: 1277: 1276: 1268: 1264: 1250: 1245: 1244: 1240: 1227: 1223: 1214: 1212: 1198: 1197: 1193: 1183: 1181: 1139: 1138: 1134: 1123: 1119: 1103: 1102: 1098: 1088: 1086: 1083:Chemistry World 1076: 1075: 1071: 1053: 1049: 1039: 1037: 1033: 1026: 1021: 1020: 1016: 991:(13): 1916–22. 982: 981: 977: 967: 965: 952: 951: 947: 940:Popular Science 933: 932: 928: 910: 909: 905: 892: 888: 859:(4471): 51–55. 848: 847: 843: 832: 828: 782: 781: 777: 769: 765: 717: 716: 712: 676: 675: 668: 658: 656: 647: 646: 642: 632: 630: 621: 620: 616: 606: 604: 595: 594: 590: 556: 551: 550: 546: 542: 534:Bogdanov affair 515: 454: 384: 371:Meissner effect 284: 282: 281: 280: 276: 274: 273: 272: 271: 226: 73:Walter Kaufmann 42: 26:invalid science 12: 11: 5: 1311: 1309: 1301: 1300: 1295: 1290: 1280: 1279: 1275: 1274: 1262: 1238: 1236: 1235: 1221: 1191: 1132: 1117: 1096: 1069: 1047: 1014: 975: 945: 926: 903: 886: 841: 826: 775: 763: 710: 666: 640: 614: 588: 543: 541: 538: 537: 536: 531: 526: 521: 514: 511: 510: 509: 489: 488: 482: 481: 470: 469: 463: 462: 450:Main article: 448: 447: 441: 440: 417: 416: 407: 406: 399: 398: 383: 380: 379: 378: 351: 350: 337: 336: 324: 323: 314: 313: 300: 299: 290: 289: 283: 275: 263: 262: 253: 252: 222:Main article: 220: 219: 213: 212: 188: 187: 178: 177: 137: 136: 126: 125: 116: 115: 105: 104: 92: 91: 89:effect (1924) 81: 80: 64: 63: 57: 56: 52: 51: 41: 38: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1310: 1299: 1296: 1294: 1291: 1289: 1286: 1285: 1283: 1271: 1266: 1263: 1258: 1257: 1249: 1242: 1239: 1234: 1230: 1229: 1225: 1222: 1210: 1206: 1205:New Scientist 1202: 1195: 1192: 1179: 1175: 1171: 1167: 1163: 1159: 1155: 1151: 1147: 1143: 1136: 1133: 1130: 1127: 1121: 1118: 1112: 1107: 1100: 1097: 1084: 1080: 1073: 1070: 1067: 1063: 1059: 1056: 1051: 1048: 1036:on 2007-01-14 1032: 1025: 1018: 1015: 1011: 1006: 1002: 998: 994: 990: 986: 979: 976: 963: 959: 955: 949: 946: 941: 937: 930: 927: 922: 918: 914: 907: 904: 900: 896: 890: 887: 882: 878: 874: 870: 866: 862: 858: 854: 853: 845: 842: 839: 836: 830: 827: 822: 818: 814: 810: 806: 802: 798: 794: 790: 786: 779: 776: 772: 767: 764: 760: 755: 751: 747: 743: 739: 735: 731: 727: 726: 721: 714: 711: 705: 700: 696: 692: 688: 684: 683:Physics Today 680: 673: 671: 667: 655: 651: 644: 641: 629: 625: 618: 615: 602: 601:The Economist 598: 592: 589: 584: 580: 575: 570: 566: 562: 555: 548: 545: 539: 535: 532: 530: 527: 525: 522: 520: 517: 516: 512: 507: 503: 499: 498:bubble fusion 495: 491: 490: 487: 484: 483: 479: 475: 472: 471: 468: 465: 464: 460: 456: 455: 453: 452:Schön scandal 446: 443: 442: 438: 433: 429: 428: 423: 419: 418: 415: 413: 409: 408: 404: 401: 400: 397: 395: 391: 386: 385: 381: 376: 372: 368: 365: 361: 357: 353: 352: 349: 347: 343: 339: 338: 334: 330: 326: 325: 322: 320: 316: 315: 310: 306: 303:In 2011, the 302: 301: 298: 296: 292: 291: 269: 265: 264: 261: 259: 255: 254: 250: 246: 245: 240: 236: 232: 228: 227: 225: 218: 215: 214: 210: 209:Upsilon meson 206: 204: 199: 194: 190: 189: 186: 184: 180: 179: 175: 171: 167: 166:binary pulsar 163: 159: 155: 151: 147: 143: 139: 138: 135: 133: 128: 127: 122: 118: 117: 114: 112: 107: 106: 102: 98: 94: 93: 90: 88: 83: 82: 78: 77:Gerald Holton 74: 70: 67:Published in 66: 65: 62: 59: 58: 54: 53: 50: 48: 44: 43: 39: 37: 35: 31: 27: 23: 19: 18:repeatability 1265: 1254: 1241: 1224: 1213:. Retrieved 1204: 1194: 1182:. Retrieved 1149: 1145: 1135: 1128: 1120: 1099: 1087:. Retrieved 1085:(April 2007) 1082: 1072: 1050: 1038:. Retrieved 1031:the original 1017: 1008: 988: 984: 978: 966:. Retrieved 962:the original 957: 948: 939: 929: 920: 916: 906: 898: 894: 889: 856: 850: 844: 834: 829: 791:(1): 41–64. 788: 784: 778: 766: 757: 729: 723: 720:"The N-Rays" 713: 686: 682: 657:. Retrieved 653: 643: 631:. Retrieved 627: 617: 605:. Retrieved 600: 591: 564: 560: 547: 485: 478:Victor Ninov 466: 444: 439:experiments. 437:double blind 425: 412:Water memory 410: 387: 364:lead apatite 340: 317: 293: 256: 243: 216: 202: 197: 181: 129: 120: 108: 84: 68: 60: 45: 30:double-blind 15: 1111:1109.4897v1 474:Element 118 224:Cold fusion 205:M. Lederman 1282:Categories 1215:2023-08-10 1089:2008-05-25 1040:2008-07-19 893:Bovenkerk 689:(10): 57. 567:(2): 229. 540:References 432:homeopathy 191:Data from 1251:(reprint) 1184:17 August 1174:260955242 821:117998999 813:0021-8286 583:2171-679X 403:Emil Rupp 394:canal-ray 362:based on 333:inflation 150:apparatus 124:produced. 22:retracted 1209:Archived 1178:Archived 1166:37587284 1005:15770617 513:See also 288:in 2001. 193:Fermilab 176:in 2015. 130:Claimed 101:Sirius A 968:20 July 881:4266566 861:Bibcode 793:Bibcode 754:4063030 734:Bibcode 691:Bibcode 659:20 July 633:20 July 607:20 July 561:Theoria 388:Photon 198:upsilon 158:Chicago 1172:  1164:  1146:Nature 1058:Nature 1003:  895:et al. 879:  852:Nature 819:  811:  752:  725:Nature 581:  427:Nature 414:(1988) 392:using 348:(2023) 297:(2011) 260:(2001) 244:Nature 185:(1976) 134:(1970) 121:Nature 113:(1955) 49:(1903) 47:N-rays 1293:Error 1170:S2CID 1106:arXiv 1034:(PDF) 1027:(PDF) 923:(19). 877:S2CID 817:S2CID 750:S2CID 557:(PDF) 367:doped 346:LK-99 329:BICEP 156:near 1186:2023 1162:PMID 1001:PMID 970:2018 809:ISSN 661:2018 635:2018 609:2018 579:ISSN 309:CERN 203:Leon 170:LIGO 1154:doi 1150:620 1062:doi 993:doi 899:365 869:doi 857:176 801:doi 742:doi 699:doi 569:doi 344:in 307:at 270:in 1284:: 1253:. 1207:. 1203:. 1176:. 1168:. 1160:. 1148:. 1144:. 1081:. 1007:. 999:. 989:44 987:. 956:. 938:. 921:16 919:. 915:. 875:. 867:. 855:. 835:26 815:. 807:. 799:. 789:41 787:. 756:. 748:. 740:. 730:70 728:. 722:. 697:. 687:62 685:. 681:. 669:^ 652:. 626:. 599:. 577:. 565:30 563:. 559:. 279:Ge 36:. 1259:. 1218:. 1188:. 1156:: 1114:. 1108:: 1094:. 1092:. 1064:: 1045:. 1043:. 995:: 972:. 883:. 871:: 863:: 823:. 803:: 795:: 744:: 736:: 707:. 701:: 693:: 663:. 637:. 611:. 585:. 571::

Index

repeatability
retracted
invalid science
double-blind
scientific misconduct
N-rays
Walter Kaufmann
Gerald Holton
gravitational redshift
Walter Sydney Adams
Sirius A
synthetic diamond
detection of gravitational waves
University of Maryland
gravitational waves
apparatus
Argonne National Laboratory
Chicago
the first indirect detection of gravitational waves
binary pulsar
LIGO
first direct observation of gravitational waves
Oops-Leon particle
Fermilab
Leon M. Lederman
Upsilon meson
Cold fusion
Pons and Fleischmann
pathological science
US Department of Energy

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