Did a Clock Error Make Neutrinos Appear Faster Than Light?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around the earlier claims that neutrinos were detected traveling faster than light, which sparked significant debate in the scientific community. A proposed explanation suggests that discrepancies in clock synchronization between the CERN facility and the Gran Sasso laboratory could account for the observed results. The theory posits that a slight delay in the electrical signal used to synchronize the clocks may have led to an inaccurate time recording of the neutrinos' launch and arrival. This misalignment could create the illusion that neutrinos exceeded the speed of light, while in reality, they adhered to Einstein's theory. The conversation also references systematic errors identified by the experimenters, emphasizing the importance of accurate measurement in such groundbreaking experiments.
dart plegius
Neutrinos faster than light SOLVED ?

Heya all,

I was thinking about the neutrinos going faster than light (yes, it has been some time ago), and thought, on Einstein's side, that they couldn't have. So I conjured something up.

What if the clocks they used were not on equal, because of the miniscule delay in time? It could explain why they seemed to beat the speed of light. Let me explain:

For example, they set their clocks straight by means of an electrical signal signalling 12 o' clock. The clock at CERN sends this signal to Grand Sasso (I don't know the name of the place), and arrives there slightly later, saying it should be 12 o' clock. The clock at GS takes this.

Next, the neutrinos are fired at say 1 o' clock. The GS clock records the neutrinos fired at only slightly before 1 o' clock. They arrive (which would be in accordance with Einstein) slightly later than 1 o' clock on the GS clock. Due to the neutrinos having this extra miniscule time, they seemed to have traveled faster than light, whilst actually the clocks were wrong.

This is just something I thought of, and thought I'd also give you some food for thought.
 
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https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=593815
 


Also see the very long thread here (in our relativity forum) about the experiment:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=532620

Somewhere near the end you will find out about the sources of systematic error that the experimenters themselves finally found.
 

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