By Emese Nemeth
Staff Writer

Due to a recent discovery at CERN, The European Organization of Nuclear Research, many scientists have been wondering if Einstein’s theory of special relativity has been proven wrong.

Einstein’s theory explains that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, at 180,000 miles per second.
However, a recent clocked neutrino, a subatomic particle with no charge, was 0.0025% faster than the speed of light, which has brought a lot of buzz in the science community.
The neutrinos were first grouped together at CERN and then flew out of the accelerator, right towards the Alps where the Gran Sasso Observatory is located with a neutrino detector. Luckily, a few were intercepted and detected. When the two labs calculated the time, it appeared the particles made it to the observatory faster than the speed of light.
If this turns out to be correct, the effect will be astronomical. Physics textbooks will have to be rewritten, as well as the definition of “cause and effect.” This is because when a particle moves faster than light, it is like time travel.
Astrophysicist Adam Frank from University of Rochester said, “Think of it as being shot before the trigger is pulled.”
On the other hand, this is not the first time someone has thought to prove Einstein theory wrong. Therefore, the scientists at the Grand Sasso laboratory have checked all their equipment to find any idiosyncrasies that may account for an invalid time measurement.
They have reported that there is no evidence for a miscalculation. But even if there is equipment is infallible, the experiment still needs to be replicated. “My dream would be that another, independent experiment finds the same thing,” said Antonio Ereditato, of the University of Bern, leader of the Gran Sasso laboratory, to the BBC. “Then I would be relieved.”
As a result, the Fermilab accelerator complex in Chicago is now gearing up to duplicate the results. As it turns out, the Fermilab also made the claim of faster-than-light neutrinos in 2007 but was proven false after a closer look.
Although many physicists are skeptical or even doubtful, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a far-fetched idea ended up being true. It wasn’t that long ago that scientists laughed at the idea of dark matter, which is now a fundamental part of the universe.