Why did einstein beleive light speed is the maximum speed you can obtain?

Question

but how do you know that all matter turns to energy if it hasn't been proven obviously nothing can be observed travelling faster than the speed of light because it is relative but if something did then you wouldn't be ablee to see it

i do beleive i placed this question in the science section under physics sowhy am i getting non physics answers?

Answer 1

I will attempt an answer that is somewhat factual.

The theory does not stipulate that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. It stipulates that matter can not approach the speed of light. In fact a hypothetical partical called a tachyon has been named that has a speed faster than the speed of light. That partical has an imaginary mass.

The entire work comes from the equations developed by Einsten,

E= MC^2/ sq rt (1- c^2/v^2)

Answer 2

Physics deals with matter and energy;

Leaving gravitational field and nuclear field, the only way in which energy is transmitted from one place to another place is in the form of electro-magnetic field (interaction of electric and magnetic field).

We know the EM field passes through vacuum. Except vacuum in all other medium (material) the speed is reduced.

We have studied the properties of electric field separately and magnetic field separately. The propagation of electric field depends upon the permeability of the medium and the propagation of magnetic field depends upon the permittivity of the medium. We know their values in vacuum and Maxwell has showed that the speed of EM wave depends on these two and has shown that it is a constant.

Thus the speed of light is the maximum in vacuum and is a constant.

If the speed is to exceed this value, one has to find a medium other than vacuum; also it should not be a matter (mass).

In fact, scientists were in search of a medium other than vacuum in the belief that light cannot travel in vacuum and vacuum must contain a material called Ether.

At this stage, Einstein proposed that no such material is necessary and EM wave can travel in vacuum.

Thus one must understand that it is not the theory of relativity which suggests the speed of E.M wave is the maximum. It was a known fact. Energy cannot be transferred faster than this value.

Next is the question, “Can any MATERIAL be transferred with a speed more than this.

Here comes the theory of relativity. The peculiar or the astonishing property of EM wave is that its speed when measured by a moving observer as well as by a stationary observer remains the same (the above mentioned constant speed of light in vacuum).

To account this property Einstein postulated that it is possible only if the length contracts, time dilates, and mass increases with speed. These things are experimentally verified and the postulates are true.

By this proposition one concludes any material cannot exceed the speed of light.

Important fact is that it is not the theory of relativity which fixes the speed of light in vacuum.

Answer 3

Yes, this is indeed an interesting thought experiment. Since it is clearly impractical, maybe consider a rigid massless rod with a knob on the end, and do the same thing again! I devised a similar thought experiment, but using a "beam" of light instead. Of course, respondents were eager to point out that a "beam" of light is in fact not "solid", so the light in the beam does not have any tangential component at all, only a radial component, which is travelling at the speed of light.

Answer 4

I think it is because that is the measure used in space to show distance.

So if sumthin is a few light years away, then it would be like a star trek light speed warp, that in a flash, u will be sumwhere else, at a snap of a finger.

So beam me up scotty!!!

We are jst regular people, for proper answers and professional theories, see a physician or a scientist, not yahoo answers.

Answer 5

Because the equations for the theory of relativity, which he devised, show that it would require an infinite amount of energy for an object with a rest mass to reach light speed, and because the equations also show that traveling faster than light in one reference frame would equal time travel to the past in other reference frame, which could result in violation of causality.

Answer 6

Consider a space ship moving with a vel of 60% that of light. An astronaut in it sees another spaceship moving towards it with same velocity.
So, we find rel vel to be more than light. In reality it does not happen because of dilution of time.When we use a light clock, to measure time, the time in which light reflects from a surface is considered to be a nanosecond. When the vel of the clock reaches that of light, the path of light bends and covers a greater distance. The time increases, the distance is greater and the velocity is seen to be constant.

Answer 7

He didn't.

He believed that all observers get the same reults for the speed of light, regardless of how they are moving. He believed this because experiments (the first by Michelson and Morley) showed it to be the case. This is in contrast to how speed intuitively behaves - usually if i am speed towards something that is moving towards me, I can just add the speeds; if everyone gets the same result for the speed of light this intuition is wrong.

Once you accept that everyone gets the same result for the speed of light, it follows through straightforward logic that it takes infinite energy to accelerate something to the speed of light. Thus it is clearly impossible to accelerate something to the speed of light.

In fact, what is predicted is that it takes more and more energy to achieve the same amount of acceleration the faster you go. This can also be verified experimentally in particle accelerators.

Answer 8

As you approach the speed of light matter flattens out and time slows down. "You" would never survive, just like a trip into a black hole. ...

Just as space cannot support a super massive sun condensed into teaspoon size area, space will only allow
a certain speed limit. G-force is G-Force.

The "speed" of light is the inverse square of the magnetic permeability of space.

So if you can change how easily a magnetic field flows through space you could increase the speed of light...

Answer 9

In his formulas you find root{1 - (v/c)^2}.
If v>c then the root gives no suitable solution.
If v=c there can be divided by 0.
So c is not the maximum but the upper limit (which is never reached exactly). You feel the difference?

Answer 10

Erik L: My words exactly. Nothing has been found that is faster than the accepted speed of light.