Particles that move faster than light: Was Einstein wrong?

Physicists shock the science world by announcing that neutrinos can travel faster than light — upsetting a key pillar of modern physics

Albert Einstein
(Image credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)

Albert Einstein sits atop the pantheon of scientists because of his seminal theory of relativity — but new research from scientists working in Switzerland and Italy suggests that Einstein might have been wrong. OPERA, an international group of physicists at CERN's particle accelerator outside Geneva, claim to have tested neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light — which Einstein maintained is the fastest thing in the universe. What exactly did the physicists find, and what are the implications? Here's what you should know:

What are neutrinos?

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