and those neutrinos did not exceed the speed of light, after all. Scientists working at the facility have discovered that subatomic neutrino particles may have traveled through the 17-mile (27 kilometers) long particle. The results showed the same faster-than-light speed. If the measurement panned out, it would call a century of physics into question, forcing scientists to rethink fundamental laws of the universe.īut on Friday, another experimental group at Gran Sasso, ICARUS (imaging cosmic and rare underground signal), reported that it had clocked seven neutrinos traveling the exact same underground path underground as the OPERA neutrinos. A faulty connection between a GPS receiver and a computer. Last year, OPERA measured that neutrinos were making the 454-mile (730-kilometer) underground trip between the two labs more speedily than light, arriving there 60 nanoseconds earlier than a beam. It was a feat that had been considered impossible, so the scientists asked colleagues to double-check the result. Those famous neutrinos that appeared to travel faster than light in an Italian experiment last September probably did not do so after all. REPORTING FROM LOS ANGELES - Faster-than-light neutrinos, we hardly knew ye.īack in September, a group of physicists working at the OPERA experiment (oscillation project with emulsion-racking apparatus) at Italy’s Gran Sasso Laboratory astounded the scientific world by clocking neutrinos, a type of subatomic particle, that seemed to travel faster than the speed of light. Simple measurement The principle of the measurement is simple the physicists know the distance travelled and the time it takes, which gives the velocity. This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. Last year, OPERA measured that neutrinos were making the 454-mile (730-kilometer) underground trip between the two labs more speedily than light, arriving there 60 nanoseconds earlier than a beam. The team studied more than 15,000 neutrino events and found that they indicate that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light.