Faster-than-light neutrinos? ... Not so fast.

New report casts doubt upon last year's much-doubted science shocker

Really? You mean it was a loose connection and not a fatal flaw in Einstein's theory of relativity that apparently accounted for last September's breathtaking news that neutrinos had beaten previously undefeated light in a race from Switzerland to Italy?

That's the latest theory anyway, which if it stands up would be way funnier than my first physics joke.

From a post this afternoon on ScienceInsider:

According to sources familiar with the experiment, the 60 nanoseconds discrepancy appears to come from a bad connection between a fiber optic cable that connects to the GPS receiver used to correct the timing of the neutrinos' flight and an electronic card in a computer. After tightening the connection and then measuring the time it takes data to travel the length of the fiber, researchers found that the data arrive 60 nanoseconds earlier than assumed. Since this time is subtracted from the overall time of flight, it appears to explain the early arrival of the neutrinos. New data, however, will be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Hey, at least it appears as though the computer was plugged in.

• Data Center
• Einstein
• neutrinos
• speed of light
• you've got to be kidding