Release: October 19, 2011
Made By: BBC
Genre: Science
Run Time: 1 Hour
IMDb Rating: Not Available
Faster Than The Speed Of Light: An international group of scientists at Cern made one of the most astonishing statements of this generation: that they had detected particles that seemed to travel faster than the speed of light. If they turn out to be right, that will mean Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is wrong and travelling into the past or to a parallel universe might no longer be confined to the likes of Doctor Who. In this programme, Professor Marcus du Sautoy tries to explain to us non-boffins what it’s all about and why it matters. Of course, there’s always the possibility the scientists have just got it wrong.
The Icarus results did not completely rule out faster-than-light neutrinos. Cohen-Glashow and Icarus have shown that if Opera is correct, and Einstein's relativity must be modified, then that modification must also cleverly eliminate the Cerenkov-like radiation that would have affected both Opera and Icarus. That's a very tall order, to be sure; but until someone proves that no such modification is possible, we can't firmly conclude Opera is wrong. I really do not understand why scientists are basing their discoveries on theories and comparing most known particals with unknown. Neutrinos should have been spraying out particles like electrons and photons, as many scientists suggested, in a similar way if they were going superluminal – and in the process would be losing energy.
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