The
idea of matter traveling faster than light may no longer be limited to the
realm of science fiction, as scientists have reported observing neutrinos doing
exactly that (Photo: Osvaldo Gon)
According to
Einstein's restricted theory of relativity, nothing can travel faster than
light in a vacuum. Up until today, that had pretty much seemed to be the case,
too. Early this morning, however, researchers from the Geneva-based OPERA
project announced that the results from one of their recent experiments
indicate that neutrinos can in fact outrun light particles.
Neutrinos are
electrically-neutral subatomic particles, with almost no mass. The OPERA
project has been studying the characteristics of a neutrino beam that is
generated by the CERN accelerators in Geneva, Switzerland, and detected when it
arrives 730 kilometers (454 miles) to the south at an underground laboratory in
Gran Sasso, Italy.
It takes photons
(light particles) 2.4 milliseconds to make the trip. When neutrinos were
tested, however, they reached Gran Sasso 60 nanoseconds sooner - this amounts
to them traveling 20 parts per million faster than the speed of light.
The scientists are
stymied by the results. "This outcome is totally unexpected," stated
CERN spokesperson Antonio Ereditato. "Months of research and verifications
have not been sufficient to identify an instrumental effect that could explain
the result of our measurements."
If the observations
are in fact accurate, the implications for the world of physics will be
staggering. To that end, OPERA has submitted its data to the scientific
community for evaluation, and is encouraging other groups to attempt to
replicate its results.
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