Inflation faster than a speeding light?

Question

So if some of the latest theories are right and the initial "inflation" of the Universe occured at a rate faster than the speed of light, what could have been the state of the energy/mass inflating bearing in mind E=M C2 ?

Answer 1

You ask a good question, one whose answer lies in the subtle difference between _expansion_ that is faster than the speed of light and the _propagation of information_ that is faster than the speed of light. The latter is forbidden by fundamental physical laws, but the former is allowed; that is, as long as you are not transmitting any _information_ (like a light pulse), you can make something happen at a speed that is faster than that of light. The expansion of the Universe is a "growth" of the spacetime itself; this spacetime may move faster than the speed of light relative to some other location, as long as the two locations can't communicate with each other (or, in terms of light rays, these two parts of the Universe can't see each other). According to the theory of inflation, the Universe grew by a factor of 10 to the sixtieth power in less than 10 to the _negative_ thirty seconds, so the "edges" of the Universe were expanding away from each other faster than the speed of light; however, as long as those edges can't see each other (which is what we always assume), there is no physical law that forbids it.

Answer 2

Also the theory did not violate the law as the law holds for OBJECTS
and inflation or expansion of the universe is NOT an OBJECT we cannot use that E=M C2

Answer 3

That's a damned good answer, ManuS. Ya got *my* vote ☺


Doug