Earlier in 2007 a similar phenomenon was observed in a US laboratory but it was written off as an experimental error because according to Einstein's
Special Theory of Relativity it was impossible.
Because Albert Einstein's
special theory of relativity holds that the speed of light is a constant that cannot be exceeded, the result from CERN would require that many ideas about physics developed over the past 100 years be revised or abandoned.
For, if true, the results could overturn Albert Einstein's
Special Theory of Relativity. Others agreed with the results.
The CERN research institute near Geneva said measurements over three years had shown neutrinos pumped to a receiver in Gran Sasso, Italy, had arrived 60 nanoseconds sooner than light would have done -- a tiny difference that could nonetheless undermine Albert Einstein's 1905
special theory of relativity.
He holds that metaphysics must incorporate the findings of science and asks, 'How is science possible?' He trenchantly applies the findings of Einstein's
special theory of relativity and relies heavily on notions of quantum mechanics throughout the text--an approach that makes his work still relevant today.
A specialist in quantum mechanics and general relativity, Helliwell (emeritus physics, Harvey Mudd College) finds that Einstein's
Special Theory of Relativity is a superb place to begin a serious study of physics because, while being useful in many practical problems and the most accessible to 20th-century revolutions, it also demonstrates the strangeness and counter-intuitivity of modern physics.
His
Special Theory of Relativity was published in 1905..
"It first left the realm of science fiction with the prediction in Albert Einstein's
special theory of relativity of 'time dilation', the fact that time is not absolute but depends on the relative motion of observers.
It was also the "annus mirabilis" of Albert Einstein, when he published papers that laid the foundations for quantum physics, introduced the
special theory of relativity, explained Brownian motion and proved atoms existed.
Nevertheless, Einstein's initial insights, built upon the work of earlier scientists (notably Lorentz and Poincare), are taken as the beginning of modern cosmology, for, eleven years after the publication of his initial papers, his
special theory of relativity would lead to the full formulation of his general theory of relativity, and his initial insights into the nature of matter and radiation--built especially upon the work of Max Planck, who asserted in 1900 that energy of radiation is produced in discrete little bundles, in direct proportion to the radiation's frequency (the famous E=hv equation)--would lead Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac, and Fynmann to work out the Quantum Theory, which in turn would change our perception of the physical world.
Special Theory of Relativity (Taylor & Francis, Inc., New York).