Time travel possible? E=mc2 wrong?

The Super Proton Synchrotron tunnel, located at the CERN particle research center near Geneva, Switzerland

 

Scientists say they have recorded subatomic particles travelling faster than the speed of light and conjecture that Einstein's theory of special relativity may be wrong.

The latest experiment conducted by scientists at CERN, the world's largest physics lab, which is located near Geneva, may force a major rethink of the laws of physics and theories about how the cosmos works, Reuters reported.

The most famous scientific equation of the world had regarded the feat -- particles travelling faster than the speed of light -- impossible, but if the findings are proven to be accurate, scientists can dream of travel through time and even extra dimensions.

Albert Einstein proposed his theory of special relativity in 1905, stating that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, but researchers at the CERN lab claim they have recorded neutrinos, a type of tiny particle, travelling faster than the barrier of 299,792 kilometers per second.

Jeff Forshaw, a professor of particle physics at Britain's Manchester University, said the results, if confirmed, would mean it would be possible in theory "to send information into the past," adding, "In other words, time travel into the past would become possible… (though) that does not mean we'll be building time machines any time soon.”

However, cosmologist and astrophysicist Martin Rees said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and this is an extraordinary claim.”

Antonio Ereditato, the spokesman for the researchers, said, "We have high confidence in our results. We have checked and rechecked for anything that could have distorted our measurements but we found nothing."