Faster than the speed of light
What would it mean if there was a speed faster than the speed of light?
According to Einstein’s theory of special relativity there is a limit to the speed at which energy and information can travel. This limit is the speed of light, measured by the variable c. It is, for all intents and purposes, the speed limit of the universe.
But in September 2011 the entire notion of c as a maximum speed was undermined. At this time the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which is the world’s largest physics lab, started to analyze information from a recent experiment named OPERA. The result? Neutrinos (a particular kind of subatomic particle) seem to have travelled faster than the speed of light, covering 730 kilometres from CERN to a beam detector set up in Gran Sasso, Italy.
So, it seems these neutrinos can move very vey quickly. But so what? What does all this mean? Well, for one thing, if the results of this experiment hold up against scrutiny, this would entirely undermine Einstein’s theory of special relativity and it would make us re-question how we understand the nature of the universe.
But, more interestingly, it would also make classic time travelling films a scientific reality. It would mean, for instance, that information does not just travel in one direction (the future) but in at least two directions (the future and the past). This would mean that information of our present could be sent to the past; the past from which our present is built. This would entirely blur the concepts of past, present and future and would render the idea of time most confounding.
For more information on this experiment and its possible consequences, please read the following sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/nov/18/neutrinos-still-faster-than-light
http://profmattstrassler.com/2011/09/22/what-have-we-here/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15791236
If you find this interesting you might enjoy our Physics Summer School where students get the chance to ponder the nature of the entire universe and some of its most puzzling riddles.