September 22, 2011
faster than the speed of light?
Einstein’s theory of special relativity, proposed in 1905, states that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum.
But researchers at the CERN lab near Geneva claim they have recorded neutrinos, a type of tiny particle, travelling faster than the barrier of 186,282 miles (299,792 kilometres) per second.
The results have so astounded researchers that American and Japanese scientists have been asked to verify the results before they are confirmed as a discovery.
Well, fuck me.
Further: “Proof that something had travelled faster would pose major questions about our understanding of the laws of nature because, for example, something that travels faster than light would in theory arrive before it left.”
Update: From an article on the announcement at Wired:
Jung, who is spokesperson for a similar experiment in Japan called T2K, says the tricky part is accurately measuring the time between when the neutrinos are born by slamming a burst of protons into a solid target and when they actually reach the detector. That timing relies on the global positioning system, and the GPS measurements can have uncertainties of tens of nanoseconds. “I would be very interested in how they got a 10-nanosecond uncertainty, because from the systematics of GPS and the electronics, I think that’s a very hard number to get.”
(via @fchimero)
comments
Leave a Reply
Let’s hope they were smart enough to take into account the curvature of the earth when they calculated the distance between those two sensors…
Maybe they will in the past.
How long until some politician says, “if Einstein’s theory of relativity can be wrong, why can’t evolution?”
…be wrong?
that’s what I meant to say.
Neutrinos: Big sluts, or the biggest sluts?
I don’t believe it for a second.
Whatever limits there are are set for us to break. Aren’t they?
I could swear that ten years ago I read about an experiment wherein a beam of light was seen to re-enter a box before it had left.
Maybe I was reading about experimental results before the experiment had commenced.
Sheila, I think you read that tomorrow.
Sheila I think you commented on that yesterday.
Rick, I think you said that now.
I think I said it two days from now.
Once upon a time.
Time, the ultra-fuck-factor in this equation.
Time won’t give me time.
Can time date? Perhaps time can get knocked up and birth more time.
Time dates me. We’re not “doing it” anymore. Just having dinner.
Does time at least make you a nice steak dinner and smile?
All I know is last year I watered some beautiful red zinnias in my front flower garden. Then they weren’t there. But they are there now. Exactly the red zinnias that were there ever so briefly last year. I photograph EVERYTHING now. No giant red zinnias will ever sneak off from me again.
Superlight.
Erica, the smile is always there.
Cece, the Zinnias are lovely in mind.