Can anything travel faster than light?

Answer 1

YES. The speed of light can be exceeded.

The speed of light in a vacuum CANNOT be exceeded.

However, the speed of light in a medium can be exceeded. This causes cherenkov radiation, and is commonly observed in water around nuclear reactors.

Answer 2

According to Einstein, no.

His Special Theory of Relativity started with two postulates (or assumptions): 1) that the laws of physics are observed to be the same in any non-accelerated “reference frame” and 2) that the speed of light (c) is observed to be the same for all observers.

The first assumption basically says that as long as you’re traveling at a constant speed, all your experiments will give the same results. That seems reasonable. But the thing about the speed of light always being the same sounds a little odd: the Michelson-Morley experiment (and others) had detected no change in the speed of light when measured from a moving frame of reference, however, and a set of equations called “Maxwell’s Equations” yield a specific value for the velocity of light, which turns out to be the speed of light (c). (When Einstein considered Maxwell’s Equations, he realized that they don’t allow for a “standing wave” solution, which is what a light wave would look like if you were travelling at the speed of light. So he already sensed there would be a problem with travelling at very high speeds.)

Indeed, when you start with Einstein’s assumptions and re-work the addition of velocities, it comes out to be not simple addition, but a fraction that never gets larger than c.

Thus, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Not very satisfying, I know, since the explanation basically relies on pointing to a formula and saying, “Look, it never gets larger than c,” but sometimes physics is all about the formula.


Ryan Wyatt
Rose Center for Earth & Space
New York, New York

Answer 3

Nothing can travel faster than light or infact even reach the speed of light, al least nothing with any mass anyway. To put it simply, as something increases in spead it's mass increases and as a result the energy needed to push it faster also increases untill at the speed of light the object's mass is infinite and so the amount of energy needed to push faster is infinite and you cannot have infinite energy.

The reason light travels as fast as it does is because it has no mass, mass being wieght, structure etc.

Answer 4

It is possible that the Universe itself can move faster than light, even though nothing in it can. Some theories of cosmic inflation suggests that in the first 10^12 seconds of the Universe's existence, it expanded from the size of a marble to larger than the visible universe, which has a radius of at least 13.7 billion light years. Light would have taken 13.7 billion years to reach those points, but the Universe itself made it there in a miniscule fraction of that time.

Answer 5

science and logic would tell you no. Most people would laugh at you if you answered yes. I don't know of anything than can, maybe the speed of thought depending on the person.
But do you realize as much as is known, there is soooooo much more we don't know. I am sure that there is something faster, most likely many things that are faster. I refuse to believe that the fastest thing in the universe takes countless years to reach the ends of the universe. There has to be something faster, or at least there will be eventually.

Answer 6

Nope. Here is a simple illustration:

According to the Theory of Relativity, time slows down when an you travel at speeds close to the speed of light. Time stops eventually when you achieve the speed of light. Since time stops, there is no time for a force to act to cause acceleration. In other words, since inpulse=change in momentum=Ft and t=0, the change in momentum=0. Hence, you can no longer increase your speed.

There are many other ways to show this fact, but here is only one simple way.

Answer 7

YES, Actually according to the latest discoveries there was a experiment conducted known as the Wang's experiment and in the some light pulses when accelerated acquired a velocity 300 time the speed of light. but the theory of relativity has to dropped in this case because it says C is the ultimate speed limit

Answer 8

scientifically it is proved that nothing can travel faster than light. and this can resolved by Einstein's equation for mass and energy relation.

but if you wanna know another answer than it is the imagination of a man which travels faster than anything.

Answer 9

The velocity of light depends on the density of space if it is asumed that light consist of a flux of particles.
Hence if space is no homogenenous( having different densities)Than velocities of particles in space are variable.
The velocity of light in Solar system space has been measured and given the value of "C".
However if we can mimicspace densities for micromasses moving in that space we can obtain velocities greater than "C".

The statement that Einstein made about being light speed being a constant of "C' may have only been correct if it applies only to local space ,which is our solar system.

If your Soul was to travel At Einsteins speed of light You would never get to heaven. This is the unproof about Einsteins postulate.!

Answer 10

theoretically, there is a particle called a tachyon, and it can. in fact, the speed of light is the slowest it can go. they have an imaginary mass, and with more energy, they slow down, and with less energy, they go faster. but they are not yet totally proved to exist.