Roll over Einstein：Pillar of physics challenged 推翻愛因斯坦：物理學支柱遭質疑

Roll over Einstein：Pillar of physics challenged 
推翻愛因斯坦：物理學支柱遭質疑
2011-10-02◎俞智敏

A startling find at one of the world’s foremost laboratories that a subatomic particle seemed to move faster than the speed of light has scientists around the world rethinking Albert Einstein and one of the foundations of physics.
全球最頂尖實驗室之一的科學家最近有驚人發現，一種亞原子粒子的速度似乎比光速還快，導致全球科學家開始重新思考愛因斯坦理論與物理學的重要基礎。

Researchers at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research outside Geneva, who announced the discovery are still somewhat surprised themselves.
日內瓦附近的歐洲核子研究組織CERN研究人員宣布了這項發現，但連他們自己都覺得有些訝異。

"This thing is so important many of the normal scientific rivalries fall by the wayside," said Rob Plunkett, a spokesman for the Fermilab team’s experiments. Plunkett said he is keeping an open mind on whether Einstein’s theories need an update, but he added："It’s dangerous to lay odds against Einstein. Einstein has been tested repeatedly over and over again."
「這項發現太重要了，讓許多科學界的正常競爭都暫時停止」，美國費米實驗室研究團隊發言人普朗凱特說。普朗凱特說，他對愛因斯坦理論是否需要更新，抱持開放態度；但補充說，「打賭愛因斯坦會輸是很危險的，因為愛因斯坦的理論曾經屢次受到檢驗。」

Going faster than light is something that is just not supposed to happen according to Einstein’s 1905 special theory of relativity. The speed of light _ almost 30,0000 kilometers per second _ has long been considered a cosmic speed limit.
根據愛因斯坦1905年所提出的特別相對論理論，比光速更快是不可能發生的事。光速每秒將近30萬公里，一直被視為宇宙中的速度極限。

So if the neutrinos are pulling this fast one on Einstein, how can it happen？ Stephen Parke, head theoretician at the Fermilab, said there could be a cosmic shortcut through another dimension _ physics theory is full of unseen dimensions _ that allows the neutrinos to beat the speed of light.
而假如微中子成功騙過了愛因斯坦，這到底又是怎麼發生的？費米實驗室首席理論物理學家帕克表示，宇宙中可能有一種能穿透另一種維度的捷徑，讓微中子超越了光速，而物理學理論中充滿了許多看不見的維度。

新聞辭典

fall by the wayside：片語，指某人因失敗而放棄，或指停止從事、製造或使用某事物，如Plans for at least one other power plant have fallen by the wayside.（至少再興建一座電廠的計畫已經宣告停擺。）wayside為名詞，指路邊。

lay/give odds on/against：指打賭某事會／不會發生，如I’ll lay odds on/against his return tomorrow.（我打賭他明天會回來／不會回來。）

pull a fast one：片語，非正式用語，指成功騙倒某人，後面常接on，如 I paid him for six bottles of champagne, but he pulled a fast one on me and gave me six bottles of cheap wine.（我付了他6瓶香檳的錢，但他卻拿6瓶便宜的酒騙過了我。）