Back in September I reported on a startling result from the CERN and OPERA experiments, claiming that they had found neutrinos created during particle collisions were traveling faster than the speed of light.
They released these findings to a scientific community full of skeptics. Even the researchers working on the experiment were not completely convinced.
Over and over the data they went, looking for any error. None could be found.
Until now.
It appears that a fiberoptic cable connecting a GPS unit and a computer was not properly affixed, causing the GPS signal to be delayed by 60 nanoseconds - virtually the exact difference between the expected and measured arrival times of the neutrinos.
Scientists working on the experiment still need to collect more data now that the hardware has been fixed, but they believe that they have found the problem.
I for one was sort of hoping that it turned out to be true; it would have been terribly exciting to have to re-think our understanding of physics. But alas, no paradigm shifting result after all. In either case, it is good that they got to the bottom of it.
I'm sure that more will be coming out in the next couple months, so stay tuned.
Comments
I have read that the signal was 60 nanoseconds faster, here you claim that it was 60 nanoseconds later. Which is it?? I think that the “respected” scientists are in the pooh!
IMHO a theory is a theory! Not a fact! Definitively not one espoused by a “respected’ scientists which didn’t know how to tie his shoes laces!
Ahh, sorry for the confusion. Imagine that you were timing a race, but when the participants set off you didn’t start the clock right away. Since you delayed the start signal it would appear that the participants arrived at the finish in less time than they actually did. They would therefore appear to have traveled faster than they actually did.
So in this case, the GPS signal was delayed by 60 nanoseconds, making it appear that the particles arrived at the detector 60 nanoseconds sooner than they actually did.
Does that make sense?
If the “clock” start was delayed due to the error, would not the “clock” stop also be delayed by the same error? Thereby meaning the measured time was actually correct?
Sorry – I am also dissappointed in the explanation and keen to reignite the excitement.
Itīd be nice to discover other particles move faster than photons; absolutes make me wonder.
Does any one of you have a CLUE!!??
Pete
espectacular information
Read this article “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faster-than-light_neutrino_anomaly”
Ahahaha. That’s quite amusing. Eh well. Mistakes happen. Hopefully they’ll come out with a conclusion soon. And yeah, it would be quite astounding if something actually did travel faster then light.