It is always darkest before dawn - for neutrinos?

[hoglahoo]

Could it be?

If it's true, it will mark the biggest discovery in physics in the past half-century: Elusive, nearly massless subatomic particles called neutrinos appear to travel just faster than light, a team of physicists in Europe reports. If so, the observation would wreck Einstein's theory of special relativity, which demands that nothing can travel faster than light.

Neutrinos Travel Faster Than Light, According to One Experiment - ScienceNOW

[coachschaller]

Very interesting, I have heard that according to the way speed/distance is currently measured, there are some quasars (or at least one) moving 8 times the speed of light....

[hoglahoo]

Very interesting, I have heard that according to the way speed/distance is currently measured, there are some quasars (or at least one) moving 8 times the speed of light....

True, that has been debated. The prevailing theory though is that those measurements are derived from the optical illusion of such fast-moving objects so long ago/far away Superluminal motion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maybe this will give nerds something new to talk about for awhile at least

[coachschaller]

Thanks for the link, I read it in compilation book of about 1600 pages, would have taken me forever to find it that way. Google might have faster.

Quote,"Maybe this will give nerds something new to talk about for awhile at least."

Hey, I resemble that remark.... Well that and being a dumb jock.

[Bruno]

Technically, nothing with positive mass can go faster than light in perfect vacuum.

Things go faster than light in water / glass / etc all the time.
The speed of light in water is much lower than the speed of emitted positrons, which causes Cherenkov radiation. CR is like a sonic boom, only for light instead of sound.

[Bruno]

I just checked /.
Always a useful barometer for judging physics articles.
From the various comments I read, there are many possible mundane explanations that need to be excluded before we can conclude that special relativity has been violated.

Interesting stuff nonetheless.

[LinacMan]

Maybe this will give nerds something new to talk about for awhile at least

Since you're talking about it could you be a nerd?

[Jimbo]

Since you're talking about it could you be a nerd?

I prefer the formal term: nerdlinger.

All I can say is one experiment does not a theory prove. Replication, replication, replication. Even the Physicists need to obey the scientific method and the laws of sampling and probability. Exorbitant cost is no excuse for avoiding your responsibilities to Mankind!

James.

[Bruno]

I prefer the formal term: nerdlinger.

All I can say is one experiment does not a theory prove. Replication, replication, replication. Even the Physicists need to obey the scientific method and the laws of sampling and probability. Exorbitant cost is no excuse for avoiding your responsibilities to Mankind!

James.

Apparently, the wording of the findings was very careful to avoid sensationalism or early conclusions.
It would be interesting if true.

Lucky for us, we are talking about experiments which can be repeated. Or Not.
Keeping an open mind does not really come into the picture.

[hoglahoo]

Since you're talking about it could you be a nerd?

It's possible

Bruno, it seems to me the team involved was just reporting what they did and what they found, as is usually the case with stuff like this. So then people like myself read it, take it for what it's worth, and speculate and pound fists on desks with fellow gorm-laden nerdlingers until more data comes along to support or cast doubt on the findings.

If the neutrinos would slow down long enough to explain what they were doing breaking the cosmic speed limit, maybe we could gain some firsthand insight