Measurements of neutrino speed have been conducted as tests of special relativity and for the determination of the mass of neutrinos. Astronomical searches investigate whether light and neutrinos emitted simultaneously from a distant source are arriving simultaneously on Earth. Terrestrial searches include time of flight measurements using synchronized clocks, and direct comparison of neutrino speed with the speed of other particles.
Since it is established that neutrinos possess mass, the speed of neutrinos of kinetic energies ranging from MeV to GeV should be slightly lower than the speed of light in accordance with special relativity. Existing measurements provided upper limits for deviations from light speed of approximately 10−9, or a few parts per billion. Within the margin of error this is consistent with no deviation at all.