The time response of all elements of the CNGS beam line and of the OPERA detector has also been measured with great precision. The neutrinos' time of flight was determined with an accuracy of less than 10 nanoseconds by using sophisticated instruments including advanced GPS systems and atomic clocks. The distance between the origin of the neutrino beam and OPERA was measured with an uncertainty of 20 cm over the 730 km travel path. In order to perform this study, the OPERA Collaboration teamed up with experts in metrology from CERN and other institutions to perform a series of high precision measurements of the distance between the source and the detector, and of the neutrinos' time of flight. That will require independent measurements." "If this measurement is confirmed, it might change our view of physics, but we need to be sure that there are no other, more mundane, explanations. "When an experiment finds an apparently unbelievable result and can find no artefact of the measurement to account for it, it's normal procedure to invite broader scrutiny, and this is exactly what the OPERA collaboration is doing, it's good scientific practice," said CERN Research Director Sergio Bertolucci. While OPERA researchers will continue their studies, we are also looking forward to independent measurements to fully assess the nature of this observation." "After many months of studies and cross checks we have not found any instrumental effect that could explain the result of the measurement. "This result comes as a complete surprise," said OPERA spokesperson, Antonio Ereditato of the University of Bern. The collaboration's result is available on the preprint server arXiv ( ). This is why the OPERA collaboration has decided to open the result to broader scrutiny. Given the potential far-reaching consequences of such a result, independent measurements are needed before the effect can either be refuted or firmly established. The OPERA result is based on the observation of over 15000 neutrino events measured at Gran Sasso, and appears to indicate that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light, nature's cosmic speed limit.
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