The speed of light appears to have been broken again after scientists carried out a new set of experiments to test measurements that could require the laws of physics to be rewritten. Scientists have posted new results that confirm measurements made in September that a beam of subatomic particles had travelled faster than the speed of light.
The initial result caused widespread debate as it appeared to break one of the most fundamental laws of physics – that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
The findings have proved troubling for scientists as it goes against Albert Einstein’s law of special relativity and opens up the possibility of being able to send information back in time.
The researchers behind the experiments, which involved sending neutrino particles 450 miles through the ground from the CERN facility in Geneva to the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy, have now attempted to rule out one possible source of error.
By tweaking the experiment in an attempt to address a potential flaw in their original experiment, they again showed that the neutrons arrived at the Italian site some 60 billionths of a second faster than if they had been travelling at the speed of light.
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN as it is known, said: “This test confirms the accuracy of the timing measurement, ruling out one potential source of systematic error. The new measurements do not change the initial conclusion. Nevertheless, the observed anomaly in the neutrinos time of flight from CERN to Gran Sasso still needs further scrutiny and independent measurement before it can be refuted or confirmed.”
read more: telegraph
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