Loose Cable Behind CERN Faster-than-light Result

The controversial finding that cast a large shadow of doubt over Einstein’s belief that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light might have been caused by a loose cable, the lab behind the result said. Physicists at the CERN laboratory near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein last year when they reported that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractions of a second faster than light. Einstein had said nothing could travel faster than light.

James Gillies, a spokesman for CERN, said the lab’s startling result was now in doubt. Earlier on Wednesday, the website ScienceInsider reported the surprising result was down to a loose fibre optic cable linking a Global Positioning System satellite receiver to a computer. ScienceInsider is run by the respected American Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr Gillies confirmed a flaw in the GPS system was now suspected as a possible cause for the surprising reading. Gillies’ says further testing was needed before any definite conclusions could be reached :: Read the full article »»»»

Albert Einstein Nazi Letters For Sale

Three letters by Albert Einstein to a group that campaigned against the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s will go on the auction block in Los Angeles next week. In one of the letters, the father of relativity praises the Friends of Truth, a Cincinnati-based German-American group, for not allowing Jews to join it because it would weaken their anti-Nazi message. ”You’re absolutely right not to accept Jews in your ranks, as it would weaken your position. For similar reasons, I have so far avoided speaking out openly about this issue,” Einstein said.

Einstein made his home in the United States after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. ”I welcome your association and their work from the bottom of my heart,” Einstein wrote in an August 1934 letter to group member August Hamelberg.

“Every German who has the opportunity, by living away from Germany, to be healthy and stay out of life-threatening danger, should see it as their obligation to do so. Your concise brochure is a masterpiece of such action, by avoiding taking political sides with a healthy sense of justice,” Einstein wrote, referring to four pamphlets with titles including The Nazi Obsession: Jews and Germans.

In June 1935, Einstein wrote: “Your blessed work is all the more honourable as it isn’t only an investment of your time but it asks a great measure of courage and self-reliance. If there were only as many like-minded Germans over there, the German community wouldn’t have sunk so low!”

The letters are to be sold at auction on January 31 by auction house Nate D Sanders, which last October sold an Einstein letter for $US14,000 which commended an activist for his efforts helping European Jews.

Sorry Albert!!

It is it seems the week of Albert, Einstein that is! After have his theory of Relativity questioned by OPERA - Albert Einstein can once again rest in peace. Scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute have proven his General Theory of Relativity. In fairness the researchers have not only proven the theory, they’ve done it on a cosmic scale. Through their research of large galaxy clusters – which are the largest known gravity bound objects anywhere – have such a strong pull that they should cause light to red-shift -  proportionally increase in wavelength – shifting towards the red end of the visible spectrum. To test it, researchers measured beams from 8,000 clusters, revealing that they do indeed cause a change in light’s wave-length, supporting Albert’s theory. Check the clever boffins at Niels Bohr > www.nbi.ku.dk

OPERA :: Faster Than The Speed of Light

Scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, under the experiment banner of OPERA  are reporting that sub-atomic particles known as neutrinos have the ability to travel faster than the speed of light, a discovery that if verified, would completely disassemble Einstein’s theory of special as well as general relativity. Or, at the outside these findings – if correct – may force science to re-calculate the speed of light :: Read the full article »»»»