Did a particle really travel faster than light?

A group of researchers is calling in the physics police to investigate whether a subatomic particle known as a neutrino, has broken one of the most fundamental laws of physics--the speed of light.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (Catholic Online) - According to Albert Einstein, and the entire body of accepted physics, nothing should be capable of travelling faster than the speed of light, at 186,282 miles per second.

However, scientists have evidence that an elementary particle has done just that. Skeptical of their own findings, they are presenting the results of their work early in the hopes that a mistake or flaw can be found. 

If they are correct, then their discovery could upset Einstein's theory of relativity. 

According to Einstein's theory, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. The reason is, the faster an object goes, the more its mass increases. More mass means it needs more energy to accelerate. As an object approaches the speed of light, it should approach infinite mass thereby requiring infinite energy to propel it-- but  such energy can't be obtained, so faster-than-light travel is a physical impossibility.

Or is it?

Neutrinos might get away free--since they actually have no mass. 

Because of the nature of their claim, researchers are asking other scientists to review their work and hunt for flaws. It is one of the strengths of science, that claims are thoroughly and aggressively tested before they are granted the coveted title of "theory," which in the scientific community is virtually synonymous with the meaning of the word "fact" in everyday language. 

Most scientists are expressing skepticism and are anxious to review the research. 

The potential discovery was made by the European organization for nuclear research (CERN). Researchers used a particle accelerator to send neutrinos on a 454 mile trip underground from Geneva, Switzerland to Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. The result was that the neutrinos arrived 60 nanoseconds early with a margin of error of only 10 nanoseconds.

Researchers also insist that the two lab's equipment and procedures have worked perfectly thus far, leaving them searching for other explanations as to why the seemingly insurmountable barrier has been broken.

This isn't the first time neutrinos have been caught speeding, although earlier results that suggested they were travelling faster than light were dismissed because they were within the study's margin of error. 

It will take months for scientists to analyze the data and determine if the claims have merit. If verified, then scientists will have a lot of work to do as they scramble to rewrite one of the most cherished and widely accepted theories in physics--or at least a portion of it. 

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Then again, they might not, if it turns out that somebody simply forgot to carry the 1. 

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