Imagine if the Theory of Relativity of Einstein was proven
wrong. There would be a huge out roar in
the scientific community and many of the theories that were based on his
finding would be extinguished. Also information such as age of star, age of
universe, and distance to the stars would be changed into another unit of
measure. If this theory was proved wrong, Einstein would probably be rolling in
his grave.
In 2011,
a group of people part of the Italy's subterranean Gran Sasso National
Laboratory claimed that a particle called neutrinos was faster than the
speed of light. They made this claim based of their finding that they had
gotten from an OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Tracking Apparatus)
particle detector and it had showed that neutrinos traveled at speed 0.02%
faster than the speed of light. This would mean that Albert Einstein’s theory
of relativity was wrong. Albert Einstein’s theory of Relativity is in simple
terms says that nothing in the universe can travel at the speed of light (186,282
miles per second).
Thankfully
for Einstein and the rest of the scientific community the experiment was
disproved. The problem with the lab was that there was a loose optic cable as
well as there was delay in the timing system. This small mistake put the speed
of neutrinos just under the speed of light.
I
had first heard of neutrinos from my dad one day when he had heard of it from
the news. I was instantly hooked to this interesting topic. It is also
interesting and intriguing in that our everyday life and the earth with the
universe that we live in is so much interconnected to this theory.
Sources
Wow, scary to think if that one little mistake had not been found tons of knowledge today would have been proved false. Just think about that for a minute. The scientific world as we know it would have to be almost completely changed, anything based on Einstein's Theory of Relativity just even slightly would need to be re-worked. Imagine that.....
ReplyDeleteThis really shows how careful we have to be in our experiments, a slight mistake could turn the world upside down.
Very interesting! I wonder if there is something out there faster, than the speed of light. There is more advanced technology, than the time of Albert Einstein, making it easier to find something faster than the speed of light. In the whole universe, throughout space, which still has a lot to be discovered is still out there. If we do discover this, than everything about the Theory of Relativity will be gone, and all discoveries based off this, will change or be disproved.
ReplyDeleteI just can't imagine one of Einstein's theories to be proven wrong! With today's technology compared to what Einstein had, his theory could very well be proven to be incorrect, and it would be exciting to find something faster than light.
ReplyDeleteWow, it is crazy to believe that without Einstein, our whole world wouldn't be functioning the way it is now. It would not be fair to compare Einstein to Gandhi, since they both dealt with very different aspects with the world, but both made a huge difference. It is astonishing to realize that time is such a big aspect in conducting experiments. I will keep this article in mind when I am recording times in future experiments in school.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Wow! If Einstein's Theory of Relativity was proven false, chaos would have ensued in the scientific community. As Andrew said, if it had been disproved, then any theories/concepts based off of this theory could also have been proven false. The scientific community would have been set back by decades in research. After reading this, I now realize how important it is to conduct an experiment multiple times to confirm the results, and to account for any possible sources of error. If even one variable is off, then the results of the experiment can change drastically. Like Nihal and Tejas, I also wonder if someday scientists will discover something that is faster than the speed of light? This is an interesting and exciting topic to think about!
ReplyDeleteIf Einstein's theory of relativity were to be wrong, than countless problems would have been had in the scientific community. This shows how important it is for scientists to check and recheck the results of their experiments to make sure they are accurate. I will be keeping this in mind when i perform my own experiments. Also, the the other comments said, it would be fascinating to find out what would be faster than the speed of light. Overall, good job explaining this topic!
ReplyDeleteThis situation clearly outlines the risks we face when we don't recheck and validate our experiment fully. The experiment in the post shows how even a small mistake can cause quite an uproar in the scientific community. If there wasn't a loose optic cable and delayed timer then the experiment would not have worked and the news about "light being second fastest" wouldn't have come out. This just shows the importance of precise and accurate measurements in science.
ReplyDeleteIts surprising how one tiny mistake could lead to such an uproar in the scientific community. It would lead to scientists having to check through every proven law to make sure it is actually true. This shows how necessary it is for people to check and recheck their work.
ReplyDeleteIf in fact this a particle were to be found faster than the speed of light, it would change the basic principle of science causing disruptions in all fields. Thankfully, there was just a mishap in the lab that this experiment was conducted in. It goes to show that precision is key.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that many other theories rely on Albert Einstein's theory and such if the mistake hadn't been found, years of work would have gone down the drain, and that is a scary thought. It's amazing how much work was built on top of this theory, and how careful people have to be if they disprove such a theory.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the g force may kill you, it's very possible in the far future that we are able to create spaceships that could travel faster than light to reach the far areas in our galaxies. One thing is for sure, Albert was able to conduct experiments in his mind that we could only recently conduct. His thought experiments revolutionized humanity.
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