[time-nuts] Neutrino timing

[Tom Van Baak]

> Think big.  The experiment has been done over 168,000 light years.
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_1987A
>
> The neutrinos got here 3 hours before the light.  (Empty space isn't really 
> empty.  The dielectric constant slows the light down a tiny tiny bit.)

Hal,

Ah, you're assuming the neutrinos came out of the supernova at
the same time as the light. I've read that this is not the case. By
their nature neutrinos can make it out of that explosion immediately
but it takes a while for the light or other particles to migrate their
way out from the core. In which case you would expect to see
the neutrinos first.

This applies to time interval measurement too. The best way to
measure interval is use two equivalent detectors; one near and
one far, but both away from the source. That way you get two
fair in-flight measurements. Using some implied internal trigger
and just one far detector may give misleading results.

/tvb