The Neutrinos-Faster-Than-Light Thing in the News

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The FTL Neutrino Measurements Are Due To:

New Physics
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Mundane Error in the Test Equipment
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Digit
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The Neutrinos-Faster-Than-Light Thing in the News

Post by Digit »

Scientists at CERN say sent neutrinos arrived 60 nanoseconds sooner than they should have been able to. I'm skeptical of their saying that their experimental error is +/- 10 ns. That's not a whole lot more than a clock cycle for most fast processors, and how many combined processors does all their machinery have? Also, this:
the tricky part is accurately measuring the time between when the neutrinos are born by slamming a burst of protons into a solid target and when they actually reach the detector. That timing relies on the global positioning system, and the GPS measurements can have uncertainties of tens of nanoseconds.
source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... han-light/

I'll be the first to eat my own words if it's definitively shown to be new physics, but until then, I say machine inaccuracy is at the bottom of this.
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Re: The Neutrinos-Faster-Than-Light Thing in the News

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NerdGirl
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Re: The Neutrinos-Faster-Than-Light Thing in the News

Post by NerdGirl »

I would be very excited if it were new physics, but I have a hard time believing their uncertainty is really that low.
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