Faster than the speed of light?

[bomekked]

I know that the way we understand physics is all well and good, but is it possible that there may be a fundimental flaw in the laws of phsics on a universally-glactic scale? I am sure that I saw something on Horizon once that stated they found traces of objects moving close to the speed of light in space. What if some sort of asteroid was doing just that and was heading on a collision course with earth?
We'd never see it. - We'd just die right? Especially were it to travel faster than light

[sddsddean]

Before Einstein, everyone was quite happy with Newtonian physics. Then Einstein comes along with the theory of relativity, time passing slower the faster you go etc. and part of the theory is that the speed of light is absolute and you can't go faster than it. The problem is that it is a THEORY. No one can go at the speed of light to prove it. So, it may be that you can go faster than the speed of light, but you will have to come up with a theory better than Einsteins. See you at the Nobel Prize ceremony!!

[lisaj]

... though I sincerely doubt that an inanimate object such as an asteroid could, since it's motion would be governed by newtonian physics.It has no propulsion system and it's movement is altered purely by its interaction with other celestial objects.

[Haitch]

They have come up with a theory - Quantum Mechanics "Entanglement Theory". Where 2 particles have an interrelationship - if one reverses its direction of spin the other wil simultaneously do so wherever it is. In other words it could be on the other side of the galaxy and the effect would be instant and some sort of signal must pass between them far faster than light. PS - Did you know they now think light used to have mass? (for a fraction of a second after the big bang)

[haller]

Funny how classical-physics-boy Einstein isn't saying anything. I've always wondered what would happen if, hypothetically, you were travelling at the speed of light in a car and you turned the head lights on...

[Moog]

Haller nothing would happen, if your driving along in a car a car an throw a stone out of the window the stone will initally be travelling at a combined speed of the car and that at which the stone was thrown, however if you are travelling in a car and turn on a torch, the speed of the car has no bearing and the light will simply travel at the speed of light, in answer to the original question I read in New Scientist that some scientists have used fairly simple apparatus to make waves travel faster then the speed of light, I'll dig out the mag and post some info later

[mattyai18]

Einstein's theory although not proven (you can't prove anything after all) is almost unanimously believed by scientists. The reason you can't travel faster than the speed of light is that as you approach the speed of light (greater than 10% of the speed of light) your mass starts to increase. This means that you require a greater amount of energy to accelerate, and as you approach the speed of light your mass increases until it reaches infinity (at the speed of light i guess). As you can imagine pushing anything, which has an infinite mass is well.... impossible. I too heard about the communicating spin particles, interesting stuff. I don't believe anyone has got anything to travel faster than the speed of light (though apparently that is possible, just you can't travel at the speed of light - how do you jump past it though?!). The key to fast space travel is undoubtedly worm holes though, not travelling very fast.

[mattyai18]

oh i just remembered to interesting things about the speed of light and related effects. If the sun were to disappear, we wouldn't notice for 8 minutes (the time it takes for light to travel to the earth) and MUCH more interesting we'd orbit where the sun was for those 8 minutes as gravity too acts at the speed of light. It's a crazy old universe!

[olititley]

i hate to say it (because going against everyone i found to be generally stupid) but i disagree with a lot that has been said. For one why is it impossible to move something with an infinite mass? wouldnt that mean that black hole were the true resting point because they have a infinite mass? besides just cos we cant doesnt mean that it cant be done. Or simply instein could be wrong for the speed of light the earth wos believed to be flat by everyone at one stage. so i would like a better arguement than that, or disprove me. why cant you travel faster than the speed of light?

   my physics teacher put up the arguement that irrelevant to your speed light from a source will always hit u at a fixed time? why my counter arguement is that if you have two cars moving at a fixed speed say 100mph the distance between them is always constant. speed =distance/time   if speed is constant and distance is constant then time must be constant, but my theory is that the distance is relative just as speed is relative. the speed of light is a constant, fact. So light from a bulb to a wall will take half the time of light to a wall twice the distance away. thats true hence how our accurate measuring systems measure with lasers.

 

[olititley]

so           0----------->1

               0------------------------------------------>2

saying the source is 0 then light takes longer to reach 2 in the second instance than the 1 in the first. what if the object had moved from 1 to 2 while the light was traveling . this is my concept with the cars

               1--------------->2

                0------------1--------------->2

The distance between 1 and 2 never changed but light launched from car 1 at point 0 would reach car 2 at a later stage if it was moving away than at 2 while it was stationary distance relative to the speed of light has changed.   any one to argue with this statment must therefore believe light goes at a constant plus the launch speed both of these are contraversial theories that undermine the common belife einstein based his theoris on, my alternative even states that the speed of light is not be a constant. Please show me how this not true. PS i am an as level student so explain in lamans terms. cheers oli