Particles can move faster than light, scientists say

According to Einstein's theories, nothing travels faster than light

After three years of testing, physicists say that they have recorded neutrinos breaking what was believed to be the fastest speed possible. If confirmed, the results would significantly contradict Einstein's theories.

 

On Thursday evening, a team of international physicists said they had recorded the movement of neutrinos, a sub-atomic particle, moving faster than light. If the result proves to be correct, this finding could fundamentally contradict one of Einstein's prime theories, which stipulates that nothing in the universe can travel faster than light. 

In a series of experiments conducted over three years between the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), in Switzerland, and another physics lab in Italy, scientists fired neutrinos the 730 kilometers (450 miles) between the two facilities. The team found that the neutrinos travelled 300,006 kilometers per second, which is about six kilometers per second faster than the speed of light. 

According to the AFP news agency, Antonio Ereditato, the team's spokesperson, said that his colleagues had spent half a year "checking, testing, controlling and rechecking everything."

"We have high confidence in our results," Ereditato, who is also a professor of physics at the University of Bern in Switzerland, in an interview with Reuters.

"We have checked and rechecked for anything that could have distorted our measurements but we found nothing," he noted. "We now want colleagues to check them independently." Read More

(Source : Deutsche Welle)