CERN news stories on Newser

Einstein Safe: Neutrinos Do Not Break Light Speed

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:06:06 CDT

Einstein's theory apparently remains untouchable, and flabbergasted theoretical physicists can cease hyperventilating: Neutrinos do not exceed the speed of light, but they do appear to travel at the same speed as light, according to the results of a recent experiment. The new data confirm Einstein's foundational ideas and refute an...

Fermilab Closes In on Higgs Boson

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:24:01 CST

Particle physicists are closer than ever to confirming the existence of the Higgs boson, thanks to a report this morning from Illinois' Fermilab. Two teams of physicists that used Fermilab's now-closed Tevatron particle collider and reviewed data provided by their experiments over the last few years say they've spotted events...

Einstein Wrong? Maybe Just Faulty Wiring

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:00:00 CST

More evidence that last year's furor over the accuracy of Albert Einstein's work got blown way out of proportion: Physicists believed they'd seen particles traveling faster than light , a phenomenon that would disprove the theory of relativity. But the controversial observations may have been the result of nothing more than...

Large Hadron Collider Observes First New Particle

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:54:52 CST

It’s no God particle, but it’s exciting nonetheless: For the first time since it opened in 2009, the Large Hadron Collider has made a clear observation of a new particle. Chi-b (3P), as it is called, will help scientists gain a better understanding of the strong nuclear forces holding matter...

CERN Gets Closer, but No Higgs Boson Yet

Kevin Spak — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:14:05 CST

CERN's much-hyped presentation of its latest Large Hadron Collider results proved to be a bit of a letdown today, as two teams of scientists both admitted that, despite some "tantalizing hints," they hadn't located the elusive Higgs boson yet. They did, however, narrow down where it might be hiding; according...

'God Particle' Hunters Set to Bare Results Today

Rob Quinn — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:26:00 CST

Christmas may be about to come early for the world's physicists. Two competing teams of scientists who have been sifting through data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider will give a progress report today. Scientists caution that there won't be any firm answer on whether the Higgs boson "God particle" exists...

Glimpse of 'God Particle' Nigh?

Rob Quinn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:43:05 CST

The Higgs boson "God particle" may or may not exist, and physicists at the Large Hadron Collider may or may not be close to spotting it, but one thing is clear: There are some very excited scientists at CERN. Rumors that the elusive particle believed to endow matter with mass...

Faster-Than-Light Findings All Wrong: New Study

Matt Cantor — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:13:51 CST

The scientists who said they recorded particles traveling faster than light in September —and then confirmed their own findings last week —have it wrong, international scientists in Italy say. The ICARUS project, based in the same laboratory as the OPERA experiment, argued that if the particles had traveled faster than...

2nd Test Finds Faster-Than-Light Particles

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:02:05 CST

The international physics team OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion Tracking Apparatus) has managed to recreate the result that shocked the physics world , again detecting a batch of subatomic particles moving faster than the speed of light, the Washington Post reports. The "positive outcome of the test makes us more confident...