t many experiments are not repeatable due to fraud or error.

[1][2] The list of papers whose results were later

retracted or discredited, thus leading to invalid science, is growing.[3] 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 double-blind protocols).[4] There have also been cases of deliberate scientific
misconduct.[5] Famous experimental errors[edit] N-rays (1903) A reported faint visual effect that
experimenters could still "see" even when the supposed causative element in their apparatus had been secretly
disconnected.[6] Claimed experimental disproof of special relativity (1906) Published in Annalen der Physik
and said to be the first journal paper to cite Einstein's 1905 electrodynamics paper. Walter Kaufmann stated that
his results were not compatible with special relativity. According to Gerald Holton, 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.[7] Premature verification of the
gravitational redshift effect (1924) A number of earlier experimenters claimed to have found the presence or
lack of gravitational redshift, but Walter Sydney Adams'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.
[8] 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 Sirius A.[9] The first "reliable" confirmations of
the effect appeared in the 1960s. First reproducible synthetic diamond (1955) Originally reported in Nature in
1955[10] 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 produced.[11] Claimed detection of gravitational waves (1970) In 1970,
Joseph Weber, an electrical engineer turned physicist and working with the University of Maryland, reported the
detection of 311 excitations on his test equipment designed to measure gravitational waves.[12] He utilized an
apparatus 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 Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, about
1,000 kilometers away, all for further isolation.[13] 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, the first indirect detection of gravitational waves was confirmed from observations of a
binary pulsar, 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 LIGO, which made the first direct observation of gravitational waves in 2015. Oops-Leon
particle (1976) Data from Fermilab 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 upsilon, the proposed name for the new particle and Leon M. Lederman, the
principal investigator. The illusory particle is unrelated to the Upsilon meson, discovered in 1977 by the same
group.[14] Cold fusion (1989) Main article: Cold fusion Since the announcement of Pons and Fleischmann in
1989, cold fusion has been considered to be an example of a pathological science.[15] Two panels convened by
the US Department of Energy, one in 1989 and a second in 2004, did not recommend a dedicated federal
program for cold fusion research.[16] In 2007, Nature reported that the American Chemical Society would host
an invited symposium on cold fusion and low energy nuclear reactions at their national meeting for the first time
in many years.[17][18] Neutrinoless double beta decay (2001) Members of the Heidelberg–Moscow
collaboration claimed to have discovered neutrino-less double beta decay in 76 Ge in 2001, the claimed half-
life has now been ruled out at very high significance by GERDA.[citation needed] Faster-than-light neutrino
anomaly (2011) In 2011, the OPERA experiment at CERN 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.[19] This investigation found an improperly connected fibre optic cable and a
clock oscillator ticking too fast, which together had caused an underestimate of uncertainty in the initial
measurement.[20] Cosmic microwave background polarization (2014) On March 17, 2014, astrophysicists of
the BICEP2 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
inflation. 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. Room-temperature
superconductivity in LK-99 (2023) In July 2023, a team at Korea University led by Lee Sukbae and Kim Ji-
Hoon announced the discovery of LK-99, a supposed room-temperature superconductor based on lead apatite
doped with copper. As evidence, they published conductivity measurements and a video showing partial
levitation that the researchers claimed displayed the Meissner effect. Other research groups were not able to
replicate the results and suggested that impur
**Multiple Choice Questions:**

1. What is one of the reasons why many experiments are not repeatable according to the text?
A) Lack of funding
 B) Unreliable equipment
C) Fraud or error
D) Lack of interest

**Correct Answer: C) Fraud or error**

2. Which experiment mentioned in the text was later determined to be impossible with the apparatus used?
A) N-rays (1903)
B) Claimed detection of gravitational waves (1970)
C) Cold fusion (1989)
D) First reproducible synthetic diamond (1955)

**Correct Answer: D) First reproducible synthetic diamond (1955)**

**Fill-in-the-Blank Questions:**

3. In 2011, the OPERA experiment at CERN mistakenly measured neutrinos appearing to travel faster than the
speed of light due to an improperly connected ___________ cable and a clock oscillator ticking too fast.

**Correct Answer: fibre optic**

4. The astrophysicists of the BICEP2 collaboration initially announced the detection of inflationary gravitational
waves in the B-mode power spectrum, but it was later revealed to be artifacts of interstellar ___________.

**Correct Answer: dust**

**Works Cited:**

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retraction
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_error
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invalid_science