Einstein Safe: Neutrinos Do Not Break Light Speed

New experiment shows particles at identical speed with light
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2012 4:06 PM CDT
Einstein Safe: Neutrinos Do Not Break Light Speed
A photo of CERN from 2005.   (AP Photo/CERN)

Einstein's theory apparently remains untouchable, and flabbergasted theoretical physicists can cease hyperventilating: Neutrinos do not exceed the speed of light, but they do appear to travel at the same speed as light, according to the results of a recent experiment. The new data confirm Einstein's foundational ideas and refute an experiment from last September which showed neutrinos exceeding the speed of light, threatening to turn the world of physics upside down, reports BBC News.

The Icarus group, based at the same Cern Laboratory in Switzerland where the original controversial study was conducted, had already challenged the original findings in November. This time around, the scientists sent beams of neutrinos through 450 miles of rock to where the particles could be detected in 430,000 liters of liquid argon. "We are completely compatible with the speed of light that we learn at school," says a spokesman. CERN recently said a GPS problem could have caused the initial faster-than-light findings. (More Albert Einstein stories.)

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