A Saner World Than We Thought?

[libby]

 
Remember all the talk about those faster-than-light neutrinos and the possibility that Einstein got it wrong? Well, maybe, maybe not. I looked up the report in Science, but the following, from today's Washington Post, brings it down to a more interesting level:

By Alexandra Petri, Published: February 23, 2012

A saner world than we thought

It turns out those faster-than-light neutrinos at Europe's CERN lab might have been, well, not.

While the neutrinos appeared to arrive 60 nanoseconds faster than it would have taken to make the trip at light speed, Science magazine reported Wednesday that a bad fiber-optic cable connection between a computer and a GPS unit could account for the results.
But, wait! The scientists at CERN also noted in their news release that, in addition to the problem with the cable, another potential source of error "could have led to an overestimate of the neutrino's time of flight."

Perhaps there's still hope for the speedy neutrinos. But in general, as BlogPost writer Elizabeth Flock notes, when you think you are right and Albert Einstein is wrong, you are wrong.

It's all a bit disappointing. I was really counting on those subatomic particles. I invested heavily in hyperdrives. I bought a Groupon for spinning class on Kepler 22b. This is just another reason I should never purchase Groupons (and never mind those 581 cupcakes that are lurking uneaten in my refrigerator).

So much for improbability. So much for all those jokes about bartenders saying, "Hey, we don't serve faster-than-light particles here," and then a neutrino walks into a bar.

So much for space travel. After all this time boasting that we violated the laws of nature, we may owe them some sort of apology card.

But, for the moment, that the world is saner than we thought it was might actually be the biggest news there is. We're waiting for more confirmation, and maybe the follow-up tests will prove the neutrinos are still exceeding the speed limit.

But, for once, someone's pronouncement that the World Has Been Turned Upside Down And Everything We Know Is Incorrect could actually be proved wrong. This so seldom happens. We might as well savor it.

— Alexandra Petri
© The Washington Post Company