News like today's new evidence for a standard model light* (~125 Gev) Higgs particle does much for theoretical physics.  In one fell swoop many theories can be ruled out.  While at the same time other theories gain direct support.  Still other theories, and the theorist who propose them, are vindicated for putting their faith in the standard model.  This model that has worked perfectly in every test it has had for 30 or so years.  One area which this will affect in the latter way is that of quantum gravity.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is my 24 year old Nephew's favorite game.  In it Russians invade Manhattan.  When I was a kid, suffice it to say, the Russians were not to be played with...except in games featuring nuclear war.  People not that much younger than me are totally disconnected from that reality.  At the beginning of Call of Duty's story mode New York City has been invaded by Russian forces.   As my father and I watched him we could not help but comment at how unrealistic that was.  Far less provocation than that would have lead to us nuking Russia, not a fire fight.

If we can produce neutrinos at the same time as photons,then detect which arrives first the question of neutrino speed vs light speed would be settled.    CERN – OPERA measured neutrinos arriving faster than light would have, astronomers have measured neutrinos and light arriving at about the same time from supernovae.  How can we verify the CERN – Opera experiment,reproduce the supernova result, and settle this question once and for all?  We can do this by repurposing one of the most destructive things ever created by the hands of man, a atomic bomb.

If neutrinos can move faster than light (FTL) it does not provide a means for FTL propulsion.  In the last many days I have seen much written about the possibilities that faster than light (FTL) neutrinos would open up.  One popular discussion is of "Faster than light propulsion".  In short this would not work in any way that is practical for us because we are not made of neutrinos.  Our bodies and everything around us, except, maybe neutrinos are made of particles that are well studied and have never ever been observed moving faster than light.    

 

Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw commented to the effect that it's wrong in some professional or moral way to blog about science.  (How odd coming from a man who presents science on TV, and another man who authors books.)  Others have posted thoughtful measured responses;I will now proceed to say the impolitic things that only a “hero outside of science”, beholden to almost no one could get away with.  Thus I will demonstrate one of the main benefits of this open medium.  

Here I will give you a rundown of papers that have made it to pre-print which point out these errors.  Much will be written about CERN’s latest numbers, allot of it will not spend much time on “systematic errors”, here are a few examples.   CERN's setup having systematic errors is not what makes them wrong, that they did not recognize these things does.