Thursday, October 13, 2011

Not So Fast on Those Faster-than-Light Neutrinos

Remember those faster-then-light neutrinos that Robert Bryce and others have used as evidence that 'science is never settled' so we shouldn't take action on climate change? Turns out many in that experimental group weren't happy about the announcement and don't think the results should be submitted to a journal until more testing is done for systematic errors. From Physics World:
The announcement made headlines around the world, since it appears to contradict Einstein's special theory of relativity. However, not everyone within OPERA was happy to release the results publicly, with several of the 30 group leaders within the 160-strong collaboration being opposed to the release of a paper on the arXiv preprint server and the accompanying seminars and press release without further tests of possible systematic errors being carried out. Now, a larger fraction of the group leaders is concerned about the paper being submitted to a research journal. One member of OPERA, who does not wish to be named, says there is a "lot of tension" within the collaboration and that up to half of the members are opposed to an immediate submission.

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