In 1676, Ole Rømer used Jupiter's moon Io to calculate light's finite speed. Christiaan Huygens attempted to determine light's speed, estimating 131,000 miles per second (211,000 kilometers per second), as per the American Museum of Natural History. Though not accurate by modern standards, it highlighted light's incredible speed.
Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity states that light's speed in a vacuum is the ultimate speed limit, making it impossible for anything in the universe to move faster. Jason Cassibry, an aerospace engineering associate professor, confirms this fact. But does this rule also apply when light is not in a vacuum?
Light trails of the highway
Can Humans Travel Faster Than the Speed of Light?
The speed of sound can be surpassed by everyday objects, but exceeding the speed of light presents unique challenges, according to Discovery Magazine.
Early scientists pondered whether humanity's engineering and materials science capabilities could withstand extreme turbulence at such speeds. Ordinary examples of surpassing the speed of sound include the crack of a whip, creating a sonic boom as it moves faster than sound.
The main issue with surpassing light speed is the increase in kinetic energy as an object accelerates. According to relativity, energy is equivalent to mass, causing objects to become more massive as they approach light speed.
While this effect is tiny for everyday objects, it becomes significant as the speed nears the speed of light. Consequently, achieving light speed would require an infinite amount of energy.
Causality, the principle that causes precede effects, is crucial in our universe. This further discourages the possibility of faster-than-light travel, as violating this aspect of reality seems implausible.
Special relativity, the theory linking space and time, establishes the speed of light as an absolute limit. Every test of this theory assesses its other aspects, including light speed limitations. Special relativity is a well-tested theory in science, standing strong for over a century.
Although scientists cannot currently rule out faster-than-light travel, no evidence suggests that it is achievable. However, future advances in physics might revolutionize our understanding of speed, space, time, and causality, leaving the door open for possibilities beyond the slow lane. For now, both humanity and the universe remain bound by the constraints of light speed.
READ ALSO: Scientists Manipulated the Speed of Light to Improve Laser Technology
Can Hypothetical Particles Move Faster Than Speed of Light?
The concept of traveling faster than light and even time-travel may find a place in reality for tachyons, defying the laws of the universe, as explored in science fiction. However, tachyons are not merely the creations of imaginative writers; they have a basis in "hard" science.
Tachyons are intriguing elements arising from Einstein's theory of special relativity, Space.com reported. This theory, established in 1905, unifies space and time into spacetime and sets the speed of light as an unattainable limit for anything with mass.
The notion of tachyonic particles emerged in 1967 with physicist Gerald Feinberg's paper, proposing their existence due to a quantum field with "imaginary mass," allowing them to travel faster than light.
According to the University of Pittsburgh, tachyons and bradyons are the two types of particles that could coexist in the universe. Despite their speculative nature, tachyons highlight the significance of imagination in our pursuit to comprehend the universe.
Even though it is impossible to measure them, human minds can explore the implications of a particle journeying back through time and its implications on the nature of time, the universe, and the events within.
Albert Einstein once expressed in an interview that imagination holds greater importance than knowledge, as it transcends limitations and opens the world of possibilities.
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