Particles Exceed the Speed of Light
September 23, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Society could witness a “revolution” in modern science as physicists break the universal speed limit. Researchers call for more testing.
Scientists are close to uprooting Einstein’s theory of relativity after a three-year experiment proves self-atomic particles can exceed the speed of light.
Results come from the Cern collaboration, home of the LHC after physicists sent a beam of muon neutrinos 732km to an underground laboratory in Gran Sasso, Italy.
The experiment has been in progress for the past three years, with scientist performing 15,000 individual tests. In a recent report, it was confirmed that the self-atomic particles arrived at the Gran Sasso facility a few billionths of a second before light itself.
The speed of light is recorded at 299,792,458 metres per second, which means the neutrinos were travelling at 299,798,454 metres per second.
The experiment is still an on-going process and the collaboration is anxious of making any definite claims.
“We are not claiming things,” said report author Antonio Ereditato. “We just want to be helped by the community in understanding our crazy result – because it is crazy.”
If the experiment is proven correct, scientists will have unpinned the theory of relativity, which claims the speed of light, the universal speed limit, is impossible to exceed. The theory has been the essential guide for modern day physics and has established the way society views the universe.
Dr Patrick Sutton, of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University, described the experiment as “exciting”.
Speaking to The Fresh Outlook, he said: “Einstein’s theory of relativity … is one of the cornerstone ideas in modern physics, so if that’s incorrect then this experiment would overthrow much of the last century of physics.
“It would cause a revolution in our understanding of the universe,” he added.
“There are lots of strange and interesting things that could happen if particles could travel faster than the speed of light.”
The finding is the first of its kind yet scientists are refusing to lay claims to any accurate discovery. They maintain that more experiments are needed as “systematic errors” could have occurred.
“My dream would be that another, independent experiment finds the same thing – then I would be relieved,” said Dr Ereditato.
When asked if more tests were needed, Dr Sutton answered “certainly… there will be a lot more information and back round cheeks for subtle errors.”
He added: “The real clincher would be to run a similar experiment at another facility, using a completely independent set of equipment, and see if the effect can be reproduced.”
“That would be the deciding factor,” he said.
By Catherine Rees
[Image courtesy of pni]
