Apparently, new advances in technology has allowed a particle called a neutrino to go faster than the speed of light.(Nuetrinos are "odd slivers of an atom that have confounded physicists for about 80 years." This little particle has no mass.) The cosmic speed limit was once considered to be 186,282 miles per second, but the neutrino has rocked that limit. Some physicists are skeptical, wanting to do their own testing for more verfiable conclusions. This new discover has not only shooken the physicist world, but also broken one of Einstein's theories of relativity. (E=mc^2) Many scientists are saying that this new discovery could cause a lot of problems in the scientific world, forcing them to reevaluate many of their previous findings.
There is so much skepticism with this new finding that people are demanding to have other physicists attempt to redo the experiment, wondering if they'll come up with the same results. The physicists in Geneva are welcoming the attention to their hard work.
Many people, including Drew Baden, chairmen of the U of Maryland physics department, claim the findings are a result of measurement errors, as tracking neutrinos is very difficult.
Proving their findings correct could possible change the idea of how the universe is put together, according to Greene, but he highly doubts their research will hold up to the extreme scrutiny.
This is an edited picture of a neutrino found on google.
This article was particularly interesting to me because, while growing up, I was always told that E=mc^2 was the theory of relativity and nothing can surpass it. This new discovery is very monumental if found to be true. It seems that if it is found to be true, this theory along with a lot of other scientific ideas coudl be greatly altered and have both negative and positive effects on science. I thought the neutrino was interesting because it's stumping scientists. In school, we are commonly told "This is that way because..." but the neutrino acts a certain way and no one knows why. The fact that they can change "flavors" is really interesting and I hope to find out more about it in the future. Also, knowing that so many scientists are doubting this new discovery is sort of interesting because, they have believed one thing for so many years, and now this new discovery could ruin all of that. Although many people doubt this information to be true, it would be interesting to see how certain scientists react if it's found true. Like the article said, it could shake the scientific world.
Through further research I have found....
Neutrinos do not carry any positive or negative charges. They are completely neutral. Wikipedia says: "Neutrinos are affected only by the weak sub-atomic force, of much shorter range than electromagnetism, and are therefore able to travel great distances through matter without being affected by it." They have a weak reaction to almost everything but are affected by gravity. Neutrinos are a result of radioactive decay and nuclear reactions. Many of these reactions are common in the Sun. The three flavors of neutrinos, mentioned above, are:electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos.
