The Validity of Neutrinos

The internet is exploding with news about neutrinos and the fact that they have been found to travel faster than the speed of light. Many are speculating what this means for physics going forward and how things are going to change. At this point in time, I don't think things are going to change much, but this could be quite significant in the future.

A neutrino detector

Findings from the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA) collaboration at Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy show neutrinos arriving 60 nanoseconds sooner than expected. This ends up being faster than the speed of light. There were earlier findings about these neutrinos being able to move faster than the speed of light, but the margin of error was too large and the findings were never really reported on. This time, the OPERA team believes they have a margin of error small enough, that they feel confident in reporting these results.

These are amazing findings to be sure, but lets not rewrite the textbooks just yet. These results have to be verified by other laboratories and that could take anywhere from six to nine months. Quantum physics did not erase Newton's findings much like this discovery will not invalidate Einstein's theories. 

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