CERN clocks subatomic particles traveling faster than light

CBS

GENEVA - Scientists at the world's largest physics lab say they have clocked subatomic particles traveling faster than light, a feat that - if true - would break a fundamental pillar of science.

The readings have so astounded researchers that they are asking others to independently verify the measurements before claiming an actual discovery.

"This would be such a sensational discovery if it were true that one has to treat it extremely carefully," said John Ellis, a theoretical physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, who was not involved in the experiment.

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Nothing is supposed to move faster than light, at least according to Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity: The famous E (equals) mc2 equation. That stands for energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.

But neutrinos - one of the strangest well-known particles in physics - have now been observed smashing past this cosmic speed barrier of 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers).

CERN says a neutrino beam fired from a particle accelerator near Geneva to a lab 454 miles (730 kilometers) away in Italy traveled 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Scientists calculated the margin of error at just 10 nanoseconds, making the difference statistically significant. But given the enormity of the find, they still spent months checking and rechecking their results to make sure there was no flaws in the experiment.

The CERN researchers are now looking to the United States and Japan to confirm the results.

A similar neutrino experiment at Fermilab near Chicago would be capable of running the tests, said Stavros Katsanevas, the deputy director of France's National Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research.

Katsanevas, who participated in the CERN experiment, said help could also come from the T2K experiment in Japan, though that is currently on hold after the country's devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.

Scientists agree if the results are confirmed, that it would force a fundamental rethink of the laws of nature, starting with the special theory of relativity proposed by Einstein in 1905.

Special relativity, which helps explain everything from black holes to the Big Bang theory about the origins of the universe, underlies "pretty much everything in modern physics," Ellis said. "It has worked perfectly up until now."

He cautioned that the neutrino researchers would also have to explain why similar results weren't detected before, such as when an exploding star - or supernova - was observed in 1987.

[Decswager]

Can they modify, send photons, and clock them. Would be real interesting if light traveled faster than light too, i.e., systematic error.

[Decswager]

Come on people! Systematic error has NOT been eliminated, because it is the same apparatus. Furthermore, not all alternate explanations have been eliminated. Finally, it is extremely likely that special relativity cannot have been confirmed the millions of times that it has if one of its only two underlying postulates was wrong. Give it time. The discrepancy(ies) will be explained.

[dsjanorkar]

My father Shri.Shantaram Bapurao Janorkar has worked out the E=Mc2 Instead of E=Mm2,The speed of light = 22,32,00,00,000 miles per second, whole research was made in Marathi(Devnagri) language.Look at SBJANORKAR-site.google.com and dhananjay shantaram janorkar-site E-mail:[e-mail]

[dsjanorkar]

My father Shri. Shantaram Bapurao Janorkar has worked out the E=Mc2 Instead of E=Mm2,The speed of light =22,32,00,00,000 miles per second, whole research was made in Marathi (Devnagri) language. Look at SBJANORKAR-site.google.com and dhananjay shantaram janorkar-site E-mail:[e-mail]

[poeteye]

COMMENTS FOR THIS ENTRY ARE CLOSED
-- James Ph. Kotsybar

When the general public hears about
A breakthrough in scientific research
They want to add their voices to the shout,
So as not to feel they're left in the lurch.
That they have opinions, there is no doubt.

They'll foist themselves into the dialogue,
When something sensational's put in print.
Though their comments reveal they're in a fog
Without having the slightest clue or hint,
It won't prevent them posting to the blog.

Most often, all they can add is their moan:
"Why can't science leave well-enough alone?"

[Derived1]

All they did is prove gravitational time dilation... I've read the paper and never once did it mention correcting for it except with the use of cesium clocks on both ends. Dilation has to be figured into the entire path the neutrino takes. Moreover, Cern is located about 350m above sea level and, from what I can find, Abruzzo area in Italy is anywhere from 750m to 940m above sea level.

[poeteye]

OFF THE SCALE
-- James Ph. Kotsybar

The young lady known simply as Bright,
who could travel at speeds fast as light,
said, "While I'm never late,
I'm concerned that my weight
goes to infinite mass, though I'm slight."

[commenter777]

I've been trying to drum this thru people's heads for many years that it's not e=mc2, it's e-mc3!!!

[uglyresult]

"...they still spent months checking and rechecking their results to make sure there was no flaws in the experiment."

No flaws was found at all, we am certain of that.

[whitebreadkills]

No story here. It's been know for decades that matter moves faster than the speed of light. It's called Cerenkov Radiation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation The Einstein enthusiasts have a loophole. They say Einstein said matter cannot move faster than light in a vacuum. And since, of course, there is no place in the universe where a vacuum exists (not in the lab, not in interstellar space, not in intergallactic space) then Einstein's statement is safe. lol. In fact, of course, Einstein used the "in a vacuum" phrase to emphasize that even in the place where there is the least friction possible, in a vacuum, matter cannot move faster than light. He was wrong but it can't be admitted because the house of cards (that time travels at different speeds depending on the speed of the observer) would collapse. P. S. - Of what value is a theory that has no application in the universe?

[ExaHertz]

Re-read the article. Then re-read the wiki article you cited. They are speaking about two completely different values for your quote "speed of light" Cherenkov Radiation is, in a nutshell, matter that is moving faster through some medium than the (careful here) speed at which light is traveling in that same medium. For example, the speed at which light travels in water is approximately .75c. We have observed so called Cherenkov Radiation traveling "faster" than .75c. While that is faster than the speed of light in said medium, it is NOT faster than the given value for c in a vacuum. This article clearly states that the Physicists have observed Neutrinos traveling faster than c, not some fraction thereof.

[timseanc]

@brian
The experiments didn't observe the neutrinos exceeding the speed that light would propagate through dense matter like the earth's crust (which of course, would block all light from passing though). Instead, they observed the neutrinos apparently traveling faster than light would IN A VACUUM over the same distance. Since the speed of light in a vacuum is the theoretical upper limit for the velocity of *anything*, the experiments have apparently detected neutrinos in violation of that theory. Completely astounding if it can be replicated.