Do you think humans will ever be able to travel at the speed of light?

Question

I meant through a space-craft!!!

Too many good answers, I'll let the audience decide which is the best.

Answer 1

No. A human (and the spacecraft) has mass. No object with mass can accelerate up to the speed of light.

Answer 2

The answer is still up in the air. There has been some recent exploration of some of Albert Einstein's more esoteric formula with regards to folding space around a gravity well. Controlling the folding and the gravity well will allow near instantaneous movement from one side of the galaxy to the other so that in real time you would exceed the speed of light for the distance by basic calculation of time and distance but in reality you just moved a few thousand meters accross the area where the two folds come together.

Lots of nasty advanced calulus and multi-dimentional physics.

As for the E=mc^2 formula. A quanity of matter, regardless of size and method of conversion of that matter to energy, can not excede the speed of light. Many have calualted that we can achieve approximately 40% of the speed of light with currently known propulsion systems. Ion drive being the most probable canidate for a test of that theory. An early 1960's calulation had us using the equilvent of the mass of about one 20th of that of the moon to put a craft of about 60 million pounds up to 40% of the speed of light and then slow it down again at the end of the journey to the nearest star Alpha Centuri and return the same way. Of course more than 50 years will have passed here on Earth before we would even hear from the ship again if they succeded in returning.

It won't happen in my life time or yours.

Answer 3

It is probably possible, but very unlikely that humans will invent it for several centuries or more. It might be possible to accelerate an object at or above the speed of light using strong electrostatic or electromagnetic force, but the direction would be uncontrollable, the G-Forces would be lethal. It would almost undoubtably end with the vehicle and the person within it splattered against something, followed by an explosion caused by the annihilation of the antimatter produced by the collision (antimatter [yes, it does exist outside of scifi movies] is produced by colliding particles at or close to the speed of light within a particle accelerater, when it comes in contact with normal matter they cancel eachother out and they are both converted into energy).

The mollecules may also be ripped apart by the high velocity.

Velocities at or close to the speed of light have been achieved using a particle accelerater, which is how antimatter is produced.

Answer 4

This answer is based on my own UNIFIED FIELDS THEORY.

However, my theory is based on solid scientific theory. I have spent many years studying these subjects:

Speed of light travel is not possible by "impulse propulsion".

There may be future "Warp" or "Space-Time Folding" theories and technology, but we have no idea how to do that now.

For "Inertial Impulse" drive motors, there are two limits:

1). Any object of substantial mass would not realize the full speed of light due to it's mass. The more mass you have, at speeds very near the speed of light (say, 99% or more) more and more energy would have to be applied to get smaller and smaller increases in velocity.

This is refered to as "mass becoming infinite as velocity approaches the speed of light in a perfect vaccuum".

It would be your theoretical speed limit for impulse drive.

However, I believe there would be a second, slower speed limit based on the concept of a "TEMPORAL QUANTA" . And "Dynamic Systems Integrity".

If there is a Temporal Quanta, ( an indivisible quantity of time, and the cause of Time Dilatation) then as your velocity approaches that speed where the value for a temporal quanta is near to, or equal to, the value for time in the equation that determines how much time dilataion you are experiencing, all dynamic proccesses would fail.

Let me say that another way.

If you are travelling at a velocity where you are changing your position almost as fast as the value of the temporal quanta, the effects of spatial distortion would become so severe that all dynamic proccesses, including those for your impulse drive, your life support, and your biological proccesses, would all fail due to changes in how the quantum fields that hold you together interact with the mass that is you (and your ship).

As your spatial dimensions changed, the forces that hold you together would not.

Very bad things would happen at that point.

Even if there is not a temporal quanta, the severity of spatial distortion at say, 90% to 97% of the speed of light, (maybe less, I don't know) would be bad enough to cause death.

Upon deccellerartion, your body MAY resume it's normal form, but your life proccesses would not recover.

Answer 5

could I just speculate here ? The physics of matter are governed by electrons controlling the space and relationships of molecular construction of that matter. The electrons speed through these matrix at the speed of light or thereabouts. If matter, be it a space ship or its passengers, approached the speed of light, there would be a disassociation of positive and negative matter... I believe matter would disassociate at those speeds and become light energy, besides what could drive matter to that speed besides light energy? But then too, during the forties, folks thought because of the nature of atomic fission, that if we detonated an atomic bomb we wouldn't be able to stop the reaction and there would be a spontaneous detonation of everything. That didn't happen.

Answer 6

Not to say that reaching the speed of light is impossible, but Einstiens special relativity shows that it is pretty much impossible for an object with any mass to reach the speed of light. The energy required could be as much as that produced by the explosion of a star. SO it is in theory possible, its just that we dont have access to that kind of energy.


I think maybe when we improve our energy techniques we might have a shot.

Answer 7

When humans have the ability to go that fast then we won't have to. We would have the ability to distort space so you can bring things closer to you. Instead of flying in light speed for a thousand years you can instead shrink space and travel at 20,000 mph for 30 days and achieve the same distance.
Something along worm holes probably.

Answer 8

not something with mass can bypass the speed of light or maybe if shall we the people going the speed of light might want to purely be travelling for decades even as all of us who become alive on the on the spot is lengthy gone.

Answer 9

They already can. Just go into any office at 5pm and see how fast the employees move out of there for the weekend or night. They travel at the speed of light at least.

Answer 10

What is speed (or velocity, not quite). It is measured in meters/seconds (distance per time). What happens when the velocity is greater than the speed of light (which is not possible)? Thus traveling faster than light should be equivalent to going back in time if you can never exceed light speed in normal time.

If we travel at light speed, time stops. I think it is possible. When you stop, it would be the end of time.