OPERA Experiment

The OPERA experiment, conducted at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy, aimed to study neutrinos, very light particles that can pass through matter with little interaction. In 2011, researchers claimed to have observed neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light, which challenged Einstein’s theory of relativity. This sparked intense excitement and skepticism in the scientific community. Further investigations ultimately found that the initial measurements were due to faulty equipment, reaffirming that neutrinos, like all matter, cannot exceed the speed of light. The OPERA experiment exemplifies the scientific process of testing, questioning, and refining our understanding of fundamental physics.