S4F: Now Playing at the Opera—The Faster than Light Particle Experiment
By David Siegel Bernstein, PhD
During last year’s OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion tRracking Apparatus) experiment, particles were clocked traveling faster than the speed of light—by a staggering 60 nanoseconds! If the result holds up to replication, then things get very interesting because, according to the math underlying Einstein’s special theory of relativity, to accomplish this feat the particles need imaginary mass and travel backward in time. Yet these were not observed in the experiment. This is pure gold for physicists and science fiction writers alike.
The speedy particles used in the experiment are called a neutrinos—the jealous cousins to electrons. Why jealous? These poor fellows were born with a neutral charge, so they don’t get to play in the electromagnetic field with other family members (charged particles). Its main playmate is the weak nuclear force; one of the four known fundamental forces. Technically, there are three different types of neutrinos, but for the sake of this post, I’m generalizing.
Oh yeah, I suppose I should mention that the neutrino MAY have had something to do with matter winning out over antimatter—the asymmetry after the Big Bang. I will talk more about symmetry in a future edition of S4F.
1. Where do neutrinos come from?
An atom with too many protons or too many neutrons is cranky and unstable. To feel better, the atom must first suffer through a process called beta decay. Beta decay is where a neutron or proton is transformed into other so that the atom can get back to a happy place called: the region of stability. Also, thanks to beta decay, the changes within the atom force it to find a new place to sleep on the periodic table of the elements.
Here is how it works, more or less, when a neutron does a quick change into a proton (I don’t judge), its new positive charge is offset by it having to gag out a negatively charge electron. This process guarantees a neutral charge similar to when only the original neutron existed—but (there’s usually a “but” in physics) the sum of the masses of the new proton and the new electron are LESS than the mass of the original neutron. Because the law of conservation must be obeyed, this difference between the “before” and “after” mass totals is what we call the neutrino.
To summarize, a (no charge) neutron decays into a (+) proton, (-) electron, and a (no charge) neutrino. Both the charge and the mass are conserved.
By the way, as you read this, tens of thousands neutrinos are harmlessly passing through you. Just saying.
2. Can a neutrino really travel faster than light?
First off, consider a unit of light to be a photon. Photons will slow down when travelling through mediums such as water, air, or glass. The reason they tap on the brakes is they have to interact with the atoms of the medium. This busy work slows them down to a speed LESS than “c”, the speed of light in a vacuum; the fastest light can travel. The photons may even slow down enough for charged particles to catch up—OR perhaps even overtake them. When the latter occurs, the charged particles shoot off their own photons causing a blue glow. This effect is known as Cherenkov radiation.
What would happen if we substitute neutrinos for charged particles in the above race? The expectation is they would (also) leave behind a Cherenkov-like radiation in the form of photons and electron-positron pairs (virtual particles). However, this Cherenkov-like radiation has not been detected in the OPERA experiment. So I can’t definitively say that neutrinos can outrace light in a vacuum. So like everyone else, I’ll wait for replication—re-clocking—and refined measurements to check for expected radiation.
By the way, see S4F: I Have Virtually Nothing to Say About Zero-Point Energy to learn more about virtual particles.
Now that you know all about neutrinos, I’ll leave you with these jokes (sorry, I couldn’t resist):
To get to the other side. Why did the neutrino cross the road?
-Rory Cellan-Jones
A neutrino and a photon walk into a bar. And for the next 60 nanoseconds the neutrino complains about how dark it is.
- Prashanth Narayanan
See you in time and space… and S4F. And if you like, follow me on Twitter @DavidBernstein
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Authors: David Siegel Bernstein. Form: Column. Length: 1000 words. Editor who accepted this story: K.E. Abel.
Author Bio
Abandoned Towers Content: S4F: Black Holes (Don’t Really) Suck S4F: Black Holes Suck S4F: Can Anyone Intelligent Communicate with Me? Other Than My Earthling Friends. Part II S4F: Can Anyone Intelligent Communicate with Me? Other Than My Earthling Friends. S4F: Do You Know the Time? S4F: Do You Know the Time? Part II S4F: Do You Know the Time? Part III S4F: Fiction by the Numbers S4F: From Higgs to Holograms S4F: I Have Virtually Nothing to Say About Zero-Point Energy S4F: If You are Uncertain—Call a Quantum Mechanic for a Fix S4F: Infinity for Fun S4F: Infinity of Fun, Part II S4F: Invisibility, Science not Magic S4F: Meet David Siegel Bernstein – Forensic Statistician S4F: More or Less Human S4F: Much Ado About Nothing This Month S4F: Now Playing at the Opera—The Faster than Light Particle Experiment S4F: Paradox Found S4F: Paradox Lost S4F: Parallel Worlds S4F: Splicing Science from Fiction S4F: The End of Infinity (Infinity of Fun Part III) S4F: We Hold Universal Truths to Be Not Self-Evident S4F: What’s the Matter with Antimatter?
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March 8th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Interesting article!
Stealth is easier than cloaking, and we already have the technology.
March 30th, 2012 at 7:41 am
William you are absolutely correct. Invisibility (a descendant of Stealth) is not only easier to achieve, but a future topic. I thought I’d go over invisibility first to please those who enjoy Harry Potter, but want to write hard science fiction.
April 5th, 2012 at 5:39 am
Fascinating post. We are so much empty space and mostly water. Amazing to think how we can be beings of intelligence and creativity.