24th Sep2011

Results from OPERA Neutrino experiment claim faster-than-light speeds

by Skibs

CERN has released a paper with experimental results suggesting that neutrinos may be moving slightly faster than the speed of light. The OPERA experiment, sent neutrinos from a source in Switzerland to a detector at Gran Sasso in Italy. The neutrino got there 60 nanoseconds ahead of when a particle moving the speed of light would be expected. The researchers conducting the experiment were only able to account for 10 nanoseconds worth of error in their measurement.

The result disagrees with current models of the theory of relativity, and because this is the first time such results have arisen, physicist are skeptical about the accuracy of the results. Potential sources of error that are currently being investigating include: distance errors, time-of-flight errors, and errors in the timing of neutrino production.

 

[Sources: ars technica #1, ars technica #2, Cornell University Library]