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Einstein Safe: Neutrinos Do Not Break Light Speed

New experiment shows particles at identical speed with light

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 16, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

(Newser) – Einstein's theory apparently remains untouchable, and flabbergasted theoretical physicists can cease hyperventilating: Neutrinos do not exceed the speed of light, but they do appear to travel at the same speed as light, according to the results of a recent experiment. The new data confirm Einstein's foundational ideas and refute an experiment from last September which showed neutrinos exceeding the speed of light, threatening to turn the world of physics upside down, reports BBC News.

The Icarus group, based at the same Cern Laboratory in Switzerland where the original controversial study was conducted, had already challenged the original findings in November. This time around, the scientists sent beams of neutrinos through 450 miles of rock to where the particles could be detected in 430,000 liters of liquid argon. "We are completely compatible with the speed of light that we learn at school," says a spokesman. CERN recently said a GPS problem could have caused the initial faster-than-light findings.

A photo of CERN from 2005.
A photo of CERN from 2005.   (AP Photo/CERN)
A photo of CERN from 2010.
A photo of CERN from 2010.   (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
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In fact I was a little skeptical since the beginning. Now we are 100% sure that the speed of light is the speed of neutrinos. - Dr. Sandro Centro, co-spokesman for the Icarus collaboration

I didn't trust the result right from the beginning—the way it was produced, the way it was managed. I think they were a little bit in a hurry to publish something that was astonishing, and at the end of the day it was a wrong measurement. - Dr. Sandro Centro, co-spokesman for the Icarus collaboration

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 18 comments
bewilderbeast
Mar 19, 2012 5:27 AM CDT
Einsteins's theory remains UNTOUCHED, Dustin, not "untouchable". That's not how science works. Lucky buggers! What kid wouldn't want to fire stuff through 450 miles of rock to where they can be detected in 430,000 liters of liquid argon. Yay! Do it again!!
AustinFound
Mar 17, 2012 11:21 AM CDT
They handled this well, I think. They were careful all along not to make any hard and fast declarations of findings until after thorough review. Every statement they made was in regard to "possible" findings.
carson
Mar 17, 2012 12:19 AM CDT
i had my doubts...but still im surprised if they have any mass at all and are going equal to the speed of light...maybe its just real real....real real real close to it...but not quite
 

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