But is has left a few scientists dumbfounded.

Puzzling results from Cern, home of the LHC, have confounded physicists - because it appears subatomic particles have exceeded the speed of light.

It's even made it onto tonight's Newsnight, so it must be true

The news travelled so fast I read it last week.

Of course, some cynical people might regard the news as a diversion from the lack of news on other fronts.

It seems strange that non scientific sorts assume that 'the speed of light' is the fastest speed in the universe. It's just a current benchmark.
There are obviously no CERN scientists on this forum.
Every EF member will already knows that the fastest speed known to humankind is Dougal's Breakfast's response times to almost every thread on here.

I am a non scientific type and yes, I thought that the speed of light is the fastest in the universe. That's what they told me about it at school.

If this isn't true, then Wikipedia at least still has the old school text:
"It is the maximum speed at which all energy, matter, and information in the universe can travel."

Speed_of_light

But I am looking forward to learn more about the new maximum speed. I hope I am far enough from Geneva when they find it out.

See what happens now.
The first satellite will crash on earth tonight already

Neutrinos sent through the ground from Cern toward the Gran Sasso laboratory 732km away seemed to show up a tiny fraction of a second early....the particles showed up a few billionths of a second sooner than light would over the same distance

just a few billionths eh? I wonder just how long it would take light to be sent 'through the ground'...the generally accepted fasted speed is the speed of light in a vacuum....last time i checked light didn't travel quite so well 'through the ground'

Hmm bet Einstein is turning in his grave...

"Quantum mechanics is very impressive. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory produces a good deal but hardly brings us closer to the secret of the Old One. I am at all events convinced that He does not play dice."

Last time I checked, neutrinos weren't "light", but whatever.

Anyway, you should call CERN as soon as poss and tell 'em where they've gone wrong.

The man you need to explain it all to is Antonio Ereditato, his phone number is 0039 0862 437702, or email him at Antonio.Ereditato@cern.ch

I'm sure he'll appreciate you saving a lot of clearly very stupid people a lot of time and effort - well done!

So would you, if you were being bombarded with neutrons travelling faster than the speed of light, whilst peacefully resting 6 feet under.

[I know he was never really buried - in CH or US]

"God does play dice with the universe. All the evidence points to him being an inveterate gambler, who throws the dice on every possible occasion."

- Stephen Hawking

Just wondering if the light emanating from his Holiness's rear trapdoor spreads the "good word" as quickly as the speed of BS?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon "In 1985 was proposed by Chodos et al. that neutrinos can have a tachyonic nature."

Erm well the upshot of this is now it's pretty much garbage..erm if true.

I got that part. And as far as I understood so would be the basis of the relativity theory.

Relatively speaking: I don't care.

hmm, what a strange response. not sure you understood what i meant - i was not asserting neutrinos were light, just observing that light (the speed of which they were comparing the neutrinos to) would pass fairly (as in infinitely) slowly through the ground...so to beat that speed is not so hard for a neutrino...but it was a tongue in cheek comment not meant to challenge their science...

Give 'em a call anyway. Tell 'em Weejeem sent you. Ask if they'd like to meet to discuss their investments and pension.

"I can send your funds to a galaxy far, far away - faster than the speed of light!"

Recent reflections of a friend of mine on neutrinos and other sub-atomic particles:

''WTF are you talking about, neutronos or whatever that pass through everything? Including us you mean?? EWW that is so creepy! OMG! I don't want to get like, cancer!!''


Now I can tell her there is definitely no escape from this super-fast ''neutrino cancer''