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 Einstein's Relativity Theory might be in jeopardy !
www.msnbc.msn.com
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I've seen this story, it's quite intriguing. Sadly my money is on some sort of systematic error at the moment. Although the result is significant from a scientific point of view, there is a chance of coincedences.
I think the media have jumped on this a little prematurely, interesting in any case though.
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there are other faster-than-the-speed-of-light phenomena
For instance:
Imagine an open pair of scissors that is being closed such that each blade travels at the speed of light.
Then the resultant velocity of the point of overlap between the two blades has a speed greater than the speed of light.
Is it really faster than the speed of light?
Yes.
Does it violate the special theory of relativity?
No.
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Actually that would violate SR, the theory gets around this by assigning factors of gamma (= 1/SQRT(1- v^2/c^2) ) to each viewpoint.
Things do not move past each other faster than light speed, if you're in the middle of two astronauts moving towards you at 0.8c the astronauts see a different picture and measure different velocities. Astronaut A does not see you moving towards him at 0.8c and the other at 1.6c, that would violate SR.
There are phase velocities that travel faster than light, but that's not what was measured in this case.
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because what doesn't exist Can travel faster than c
No it does not violate the theory because information is Not being transmitted at a speed greater than c.
What moves faster than c in the example is an artificially-designed construct, the overlap point of the two scissors-blades.
Am not talking of the POVs from either of the blades.
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Ah sorry, misunderstood your example, yes that's true. However you are talking about a non-physical point in that case, so it doesn't really apply to a particle with mass.
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a la George Berkeley and Edmund Husserl
oh but the perceptual world precedes and perhaps gives rise to the physical world
Just as the Universe by definition consists of everything that is observable.
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that just sounds like meta-physics to me now, which I don't want to argue about, we'd be here all day. I just don't think the two examples of super-luminal speed are comparible.
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Physics not metaphysics
That "the Universe by definition consists of everything that is observable" is the essence of modern astrophysics, which I studied as a Physics major.
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that clearly wasn't the sentence I was referring to, but I think you knew that.
so you don't think finding that neutrinos can travel faster than light would be interesting then?
(Also, just so you're aware, you're not the only one in this thread with a physics degree )
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<< ""Show me some results." >>
What is interesting is to hear scientists call for others at other facilities to duplicate their results (which is part of the approved scientific method) -- when there is no other such facility.
Considering what was spent on their multi-billion dollar particle accelerators, in the current debt crisis I think any European government is putting pressure on research scientists to come up with some bankable or high-profile results. Including the researchers at France's National Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research and Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Survival is at stake -- the survival of funding.
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All the chess players will be aware of the time limits so that players will make the necessary moves within the alloted time. Can you cheat on time? For example, the time limit is 30 mins a game but can you extend the time to 40 mins and play? I don't believe so. According to Einstein's theory of Relativity, time can be distorted or warped. So, if you can travel at the speed of light you will never get old. Although we don't have the technology now to travel at the speed of light, the faster you travel in space and comes back to earth it said that you will be much younger than the people left behind on earth. In the movie, " Planet of the apes" starring Charlton Heston was based on this assumption. When he came back to earth from outer space in the space-ship, he was still young but all his generation of human beings were long gone and the earth was ruled by Apes. This time warp is different from longevity which is you live longer and die at very old age. So, don't ask me about the time warp phenomena. It is beyond my comprehension. The nearest I can think of it, is that for example if a chessplayer can make many good moves than his opponent ahead of within the same time limits, I believe he has more time or his time is warped. Your ideas and comments are much welcomed.
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eluding "Time's wingèd chariot"
You do it way fast, before time can catch you.
"But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near" --Andrew Marvell
Years ago, nuclear physicists at the Tokomac Fusion Test Reactor at Princeton used the notion you can break the laws of physics if you do it so fast the laws don't have a chance to catch up -- and that's how (before magnetic confinement fusion) they were able to create and use unstable "containers" for holding uncontainable plasmas -- for just the time (duration) they needed, and before "time" (physical laws) had a chance to catch up.
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It seems the repeat has shown the same result
www.bbc.co.uk
This is getting very interesting!
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