A supernova test of special relativity.A supernova test of special relativity special relativity n. The physical theory of space and time developed by Albert Einstein, based on the postulates that all the laws of physics are equally valid in all frames of reference moving at a uniform velocity and that the speed of light from a The explosion of supernova 1987A released a burst of approximately 10.sup.58 neutrinos and antineutrinos, of which 19 were captured in Earth-based detectors. Those neutrinos, after traveling more than 160,000 light-years from the Large Magellanic Cloud Noun 1. Large Magellanic Cloud - the larger of the two Magellanic Clouds visible from the southern hemisphere Magellanic Cloud - either of two small galaxies orbiting the Milky Way; visible near the south celestial pole , arrived within a period of 12 seconds. According to Kenneth Brecher of Boston University, these observations provide the most stringent test to date of a central postulate postulate: see axiom. in Einstein's special theory of relativity Noun 1. Einstein's special theory of relativity - a physical theory of relativity based on the assumption that the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant and the assumption that the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems . Brecher and student Joao L. Yun use the data to show that the speed of the supernova neutrinos is independent of the speed of their individual sources. Their calculations confirm Einstein's postulate that the speed of light (or of any mass-less particle) doesn't depend on the source's speed to an accuracy of better than 1 part in 100 billion. |
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