not so fast after all

It appears that the faster-than-light neutrino results, announced last September by the OPERA collaboration in Italy, was due to a mistake after all. A bad connection between a GPS unit and a computer may be to blame.

Physicists had detected neutrinos travelling from the CERN laboratory in Geneva to the Gran Sasso laboratory near L'Aquila that appeared to make the trip in about 60 nanoseconds less than light speed. Many other physicists suspected that the result was due to some kind of error, given that it seems at odds with Einstein's special theory of relativity, which says nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. That theory has been vindicated by many experiments over the decades.

According to sources familiar with the experiment, the 60 nanoseconds discrepancy appears to come from a bad connection between a fiber optic cable that connects to the GPS receiver used to correct the timing of the neutrinos' flight and an electronic card in a computer. After tightening the connection and then measuring the time it takes data to travel the length of the fiber, researchers found that the data arrive 60 nanoseconds earlier than assumed. Since this time is subtracted from the overall time of flight, it appears to explain the early arrival of the neutrinos. New data, however, will be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

At the AAAS meeting's discussion, CERN's director of research, Sergio Bertolucci, placed his bet on what the results would be: "I have difficulty to believe it, because nothing in Italy arrives ahead of time."

We're waiting for a formal announcement (press release) from CERN.

I came here thinking you would already be discussing. It is a just a rumor, but don't we love them ? Let us keep an eye, or an ear, on what will hopefully come out soon.

Error Undoes Faster-Than-Light Neutrino Results


Faster-than-light neutrino result reportedly a mistake caused by loose cable

Sounds reasonable to me. My GPS tells me I'm in Timbuctoo when I'm really in Hainesport.

Would not that be about 10 [itex]\mu[/itex]s-light apart ? Where does your wife say you are ?

I came here thinking you would already be discussing.

Since the initial announcement, my bet has been on a detector error. Would this count as a detector error, or some other type of error? I just want to know if I can collect my bets if this ends up being the official explanation. (Oh, wait, I didn't actually place any cash bets...drat! I guess I don't care then. )

I'd call it a system error. Apparently the detector worked fine, but the transmission of the information was delayed.

Drat! Oh, wait, I didn't bet any real money, so it's all good. Really, the biggest mistake they made was the big press release of the initial report before they went through and double checked all of these systems for errors. On the other hand, it's a good lesson for the public about scientific method and that nothing is a foregone conclusion until it has been checked, checked again, and checked some more. And, even then, it's not a foregone conclusion.

I am not surprised that the results turned out to be wrong. I have a lot of confidence in our current theories and the results they've been giving.