[ExI] More on Neutrinos

john clark jonkc at bellsouth.net
Thu Oct 6 19:50:10 UTC 2011


On Oct 6, 2011, at 2:29 PM, BillK wrote:

-

My previous reference was to one paper on why FTL neutrinos was impossible.

Slashdot is now pointing to a paper with an explanation of the error
in the experiment.
<http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/06/1630212/Can-Relativity-Explain-Faster-Than-Light-Particles>

"Two weeks ago, researchers claimed particles called neutrinos were
travelling faster-than-light and violating the laws of special
relativity. But now it looks as though general relativity might be
behind the experiment's unusual result. An independent analysis claims
that the original experiment, known as OPERA, failed to take into
account differences in earth's gravitational field between the
neutrino source and the OPERA detector. As Nature News reports,
gravity can distort time according to Einstein's theory, and the
effect could explain why neutrinos appear to arrive 60 nanoseconds
ahead of schedule. The OPERA team is now reviewing the new analysis."
-----------------

Basically it is problem with synchronising the clocks at either end of
the experiment."

The GPS unit in your car has to take General Relativity into account to synchronize its clock with the clocks in navigation satellites, it does this so well that you know your position within 5 to 10  feet.  And this piece of equiptment only cost a hundred dollars or so, the idea that the OPERA people with their massive budget tried to do the same thing but were off by more than 60 feet is very hard to believe, and the idea that despite checking and rechecking the experiment for 10 months looking for errors some of the smartest people on the planet forgot to consider General Relativity is even harder to believe than that faster than light particles exist.  They say the error is only 20 centimeters and that's much easier to believe than 18 meters. 

OPERA may well have a subtle error in it somewhere but I'll bet money its not an error they could have found when their shift was over and they walked to their car in the parking lot right next to the lab

 John K Clark

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