Another Speed Question

[kermit911]

Can somthing travel so fast that it can pass through an object with out effecting it?  Example: Light can pass through your hand.  So if I have a marbel and I was able to throw it 2 times faster then the speed of light or 3 or 4 times, would it pass through my hand without leaving a LARGE hole in it?   Thanx all

   Ps: Just hypathetical

[jake-the-peg]

The speed that something travels at is not the important factor. What is important is how strongly it interacts. for example neutrinos are subatomic particle with no mass that are constantly streaming through your body  but they interact with matter so weakly that one could easily pass through a light year of lead without interacting.

[kempie]

and size must be a factor.

[CT]

Quantum Mechanics says that yes this is possible. However, for 'large' objects, like your marble or anything much bigger than an sub-atomic particle, the chances of this happening are miniscule. For example, one example I have been given is that if you were to throw a tennis ball at a wall then it may pass through the wall. But, the chances of it happening would be something tiny. You would have to throw it at the wall once a second for a time equal to the current age of the universe to have a reasonable chance of observing this event.

[Clanad]

Quantum Mechanics aside, let's think about this for a minute... If I threw a 1 ounce piece of lead at you it would probably hurt and even leave a bruise.  That one ounce piece of lead fired from a rifle will leave a rather large hole in you.  If it were possible, (which it isn't) to accelerate that same one ounce piece of lead to at or near the speed of light, what do you think would happen to your hand?  The kinetic energy of an object is directly proportional to the square of its speed. That means that for a twofold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of four; for a threefold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of nine; and for a fourfold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of sixteen. The kinetic energy is dependent upon the square of the speed. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second... you do the math...

[Mobius1]

CT - I've heard of that before, and that explanation and example. What I don't understand though is that, even given the absolute miniscule nature of it actually happening with a large object, why has it never been reported as happening? I'm sure there must be billions perhaps trillions or more such physical interactions occurring every day (both as a result of what the average human does in a day and everything that you can possibly attribute to nature).

I would have thought that it might have been documented as having happened somewhere, or perhaps an unrelated event that could be explained by it somehow?

[charliep88]

well after a night at hoolihans in yardsliegh I had a few pints and a half dozen of his pickled eggs and the next mornin a mighty wind flew through the back of me shorts so fast that it didnt even say bye bye.If you dont believe me missus if she wakes up.