婦安婦產科

比光速更快 微中子(Neutrino)將顛覆愛因斯坦的相對論？

【台灣醒報2011/09/23記者邱靖雲綜合報導】

    光速是這個世界上最快的速度嗎？一個國際物理研究計畫(OPERA)最近發現，微 中子(Neutrino)移動的速度可能比光速還快，若實驗結果屬實，將推翻愛因斯坦發表的相對論。清大物理系教授王道維受訪時表示，實驗的正確性還有待檢驗，不至於撼動整個相對論的理論架構。

    相對論自一個世紀前發表後，對人類生活的影響甚鉅，原子彈、核能、時光旅行等概念的發展都是建立在該理論的基礎上。愛因斯坦生前曾表示，當初提議美國總統羅斯福研製核武器，是他一生中最大的錯誤和遺憾。歐洲核子研究中心(CERN)的物理學家發現，微中子在地面下的速度比光速還快，在730公里的距離裡，微中子的速度比光快了60奈秒（10億分之1秒）。這項實驗是從瑞士日內瓦的研究中心製造出微中子團，並向義大利的實驗室(INFN)噴射。由於微中子不會與正規原子有交互作用，因此當它穿越陸地時，就像在真空傳播一樣。「這將是一個具革命性、深刻性的研究成果」一位沒有參與此實驗的物理學家表示，「你必須要竭盡所能、非常仔細的研究才能加以證實」。該項計畫的科學家今日起也將實驗成果公開在物理學網站上，讓它可以被徹底檢驗。王道維表示，實驗的正確性還需確認，未被考量的因素都可能會影響最終的研究結果。他以民意調查為例說明，研究設計以及如何解讀數字都會影響最後的詮釋，就算研究屬實，「也不代表過去的發現就是錯的」，只能表示它還不夠完整。

OPERA catches its first tau Neutrino

Katie Yurkewicz , May 31, 2010

     The OPERA（Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus）detector underground at Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Scientists from the OPERA experiment at INFN’s Gran Sasso National Laboratory have announced the first direct observation of a Neutrino transforming from one type into another. When confirmed by a few more such events, this observation will provide further evidence that neutrinos have mass, a phenomenon that remains unexplained by physicists’ recipe for understanding the universe, the Standard Model. Neutrinos are very light, neutral particles that exist in three types：electron, muon and tau. Over the past 15 years, several experiments have shown that neutrinos can spontaneously change type, or oscillate, as they travel long distances. These experiments, however, all measured the disappearance of certain types of neutrinos, leaving open the question of whether oscillation is a one-way or a two-way process. OPERA is the first experiment to measure the appearance of a tau neutrino in a beam of muon neutrinos, thus confirming that neutrinos oscillate between different types. The scientists of the OPERA experiment have spent the last three years searching for the appearance of a tau particle in their detector as a beam of muon neutrinos, created 732 kilometers away at CERN in Geneva , Switzerland , passed through their underground experiment. The appearance of a tau particle in their detector indicates that one of the billions upon billions of muon neutrinos transformed into a tau neutrino. More details can be found in the INFN press release and CERN press release, or you can watch this video from CERN that describes neutrinos and the oscillation phenomenon, the OPERA detector and creation of the muon neutrino beam, and today’s announcement.