Neutrinos Travel Faster than the Speed of Light According to CERN Researchers – Was Einstein Wrong?

CERN Particle accelerator in Geneva showed neutrinos moving faster than light speed

Science fiction fans can stand up and cheer today as one of the fundamental laws of physics may have to be re-written. The long standing speed limit in the universe, the speed of light, may not be the absolute limit that Einstein predicted. New research with neutrinos at CERN may change everything.

According to Einstein, and his famous E=mC2 equation, nothing can move faster than the speed of light. Where ‘C’ represents the speed of light (186,000 mph) and ‘m’ represents the mass of the object, ‘E’ the energy required to accelerate the object becomes an enormous number.

Scientists have tried for decades to disprove the theory using particle accelerators to attempt to move particles near the speed of light or beyond. As they increased the energy (E), instead of the particle moving faster, it became infinitely more massive. This is the problem pointed out by Einstein since the speed of light (c) is a constant in the equation.

Scientists studying sub-atomic particles called neutrinos at CERN in Geneva stumbled across the discovery by accident. The researchers were conducting a research program known as OPERA and were sending a beam of neutrinos from their location to another research facility (INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory) 450 miles away in Italy.

The objective was to examine the transformation of the muon variety of neutrinos into the tau variety. What they realized in reviewing their research, however, was that the neutrinos appeared to have traveled faster than the speed of light.

While only a minute amount faster, 2 thousandths of a percent, the fact that it was faster than current laws of physics allows may have huge ramifications for future research.