Question 2 of 21

The subatomic particle most similar to a neutrino is the ________.

... A neutrino is most similar to an electron, except that the neutrino has no electric charge.

Question 3 of 21

How many types of neutrinos are there?

... There are three known types of neutrino, each named after its relation to a charged particle: the electron, muan and tau neutrinos. The latter two charged particles are heavier forms of electrons.

Question 4 of 21

The term "neutrino" was coined by __________.

... In 1943, Enrico Fermi formulated a theory of radioactive decay, incorporating the idea of a hypothetical particle developed by Wolfgang Pauli. Fermi labeled it "neutrino," meaning "little neutral one."

Question 5 of 21

Neutrinos are often referred to as _________.

... Because of their lack of an electrical charge and an incredibly small mass, neutrinos can easily travel through solids. Thus they are often called "ghost particles."

Question 6 of 21

In September 2011, scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider made worldwide headlines when they announced they had recorded neutrinos moving faster than the speed of light as the particles traveled between Switzerland and __________.

... Scientists at CERN in Switzerland sent neutrinos speeding to Gran Sasso in the Italian Alps, a distance of 450 miles.

Question 7 of 21

If neutrinos can travel faster than light, which law of physics does this contradict?

... Einstein's special theory of relativity states that the speed of light is a constant for all frames of reference and that nothing can exceed it, effectively placing a speed barrier on all things in nature. The speedy neutrinos timed in the Large Hadron Collider tests may end up invalidating Einstein's assertion, if their speeds are confirmed upon further study.

Question 8 of 21

A tremendous number of neutrinos are created in ________.

... The nuclear fusion within the sun and other stars is responsible for creation of neutrinos.

Question 9 of 21

Neutrinos __________ interact with other particles.

... Neutrinos hardly ever interact with any other particles; therefore, they are able to pass through solid substances.

Question 10 of 21

One criticism of the "neutrinos move faster than light" test announced in September 2011 at the CERN laboratory was that ________.

... Because 15,000 neutrinos were tested simultaneously, some reviewers of the data suggested that measurement errors would have been likely.

Question 11 of 21

When they were sent from Switzerland to Italy, the neutrinos in the CERN test arrived faster than light would have by ________.

... The neutrinos showed up just 60 billionths of a second faster than light would have. So if they did in fact exceed the speed of light, the difference was extremely small.

Question 12 of 21

After the September 2011 neutrino test, scientists responded to criticism of the results by modifying the test design. The results of the new test ________.

... Subsequent results were identical; after about 20 new tests, the neutrinos still appeared to be traveling faster than light.

Question 13 of 21

Scientists, including ones involved in the neutrino study, have suggested that other facilities should attempt to replicate the experiment. How many other centers in the world have this capability?

... As of 2011, only two other centers (one in the U.S., one in Japan) are capable of testing neutrinos. These facilities plan to replicate the CERN experiments. Their tests could help determine if, for instance, there was a systemic problem with the CERN facility that may have affected the results.

Question 14 of 21

At the Italian laboratories that received the neutrinos in the CERN test, the project to measure the speed of neutrinos is referred to as ________ .

... "Opera" stands for Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Racking Apparatus.

Question 15 of 21

One explanation for the speedy arrival of neutrinos in the test is that they traveled through another dimension. If this were true, how would it affect Einstein's special theory of relativity?

... Traveling through another dimension would make it possible for neutrinos to travel slower than the speed of light and still seemingly arrive faster than that speed barrier. Nothing about that possibility would violate the special theory of relativity.

Question 16 of 21

One scientist at Imperial College London suggested that the results of the neutrino tests could be erroneous due to the gravitational effect on the _________.

... Dr. Carlo Contaldi proposed that the clocks used to measure the speed of the neutrinos could have been affected by some sort of gravitational pull, skewing the results.

Question 17 of 21

For the neutrino tests, the synchronization of the clocks at CERN and Gran Sasso was done by ________.

... For the 2011 tests, a GPS system was used to synchronize the clocks. This is one component that may be altered in subsequent tests, perhaps by using an optical fiber system.

Question 18 of 21

One theory as to how the neutrinos traveled so fast is that they are, in fact, ________.

... Tachyons, first posited in the 1960s, are theoretical particles that travel faster than light.

Question 19 of 21

If the results of the CERN-Gran Sasso neutrino tests prove to be accurate, what does this indicate about time travel?

... Theoretically, if the neutrinos did travel faster than light, this would indicate that time travel could occur.

Question 20 of 21

The technical term for traveling faster than the speed of light is _________.

... Scientists refer to the possibility of traveling faster than light as "superluminal."

Question 21 of 21

The reality of time travel would subvert the theory of ______.

... Time travel would disturb the notion of causation, since an individual moving backward in time could alter the reason for an occurrence.

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