CERN claims faster-than-light particle measured

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BREAKING_LIGHT_SPEED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

how did this happen?

Vtrooper wrote:http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BREAKING_LIGHT_SPEED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

how did this happen?

It still needs to be confirmed with other tests but I think they found something very interesting, it changes what we thought we know about science if this turns out to be true. They've been checking the data for a while though so I have the feeling they are right. 50 nanoseconds faster is a minuscule amount of time but with how fast light travels that translates into a large distance.

theoretically though, doesn't the theory of relativity kind of suggest something that goes fast than light, can time travel?

Essentially. But I believe it also suggested that anything approaching light speed would basically be converted into light, the closer it got to light speed.

Rotaretilbo wrote:Essentially. But I believe it also suggested that anything approaching light speed would basically be converted into light, the closer it got to light speed.

No, that's not in the theory.
As you approach the speed of light, you experience time and mass dilation.
Traveling faster than the speed of light would violate causality, so I'm definitely interested in this.

Well from what I learned in my Astronomy class, If you reach the speed of light you will, theoretically, turn into energy. Which can be light. But anyway, we've suspected for a while now that there are particles that travel faster then light *cough*tachyon*cough* but since they are moving so fast we just can't detect them. I don't really see this as being a huge deal.

Rotaretilbo wrote:Essentially. But I believe it also suggested that anything approaching light speed would basically be converted into light, the closer it got to light speed.

I was told that as you approach light speed your mass increases and once you achieve it your mass becomes infinite so you need infinite energy to maintain it which at the moment is unachievable

Barbbachello wrote:

Rotaretilbo wrote:Essentially. But I believe it also suggested that anything approaching light speed would basically be converted into light, the closer it got to light speed.

I was told that as you approach light speed your mass increases and once you achieve it your mass becomes infinite so you need infinite energy to maintain it which at the moment is unachievable

But then your mass transforms into energy, which has no mass and therefore can travel faster than the speed of light.