Archive

Second Test for Fast-Moving Particles

SPEEDY

To see if they can move faster than the speed of light.

cheats/2011/11/18/second-test-for-fast-moving-particles/subatomic-particles-speed-cern-cheat_gsbst8
Alberto Pizzoli, AFP / Getty Images

Next step, time travel. A second experiment at CERN found subatomic particles moving faster than the speed of light, after a finding weeks ago that was so surprising that many accused the first reading of being an error. The first experiment detected neutrinos generated at the CERN particle accelerator arriving 60 nanoseconds sooner than expected, breaking what Einstein considered the universe's speed limit. Critics said the neutrinos were too far apart to measure precisely, so the in the second experiment scientists moved them closer together and got the same reading. However, the researchers acknowledge that further cross-checks are needed, ideally at other locations.

Read it at CBS News