Will Faster Than Light travel ever be possible?

Question

I am familiar in a general way with the limitations of conventional physics, from science and SF reading. I am curious about credible, current, real-world theories for overcoming, circumventing, or negating those limitations.

SF stories that revelve around the characters' ability to negotiate interstellar distances in humanly feasible time frames traditionally offer some kind of explanation as to how this is accomplished. Many of these are obviously pure bunk, but allowable in the name of fun. Some others involve more thought, and many fans speculate that SOME such explanation may eventually prove possible. The most commonor representative of these would be the "folded space" or "wormhole" type concepts. Another would be the "encapsulation" of the ship and passengers through manipulation of (say for example) gravity. If you believe as one responder puts it, that "if we can imagine it, we can do it," and you believe that E=MC^2, then some other "alternative" explanation is implied. I just wondered if ANY headway at all had been made toward such an end, or is it still PURELY speculation.

SF stories that revelve around the characters' ability to negotiate interstellar distances in humanly feasible time frames traditionally offer some kind of explanation as to how this is accomplished. Many of these are obviously pure bunk, but allowable in the name of fun. Some others involve more thought, and many fans speculate that SOME such explanation may eventually prove possible. The most common or representative of these would be the "folded space" or "wormhole" type concepts. Another would be the "encapsulation" of the ship and passengers through manipulation of (say for example) gravity. If you believe as one responder puts it, that "if we can imagine it, we can do it," and you believe that E=MC^2, then some other "alternative" explanation is implied. I just wondered if ANY headway at all had been made toward such an end, or is it still PURELY speculation.

Answer 1

no..your tires would explode

Answer 2

In physics:
F = MA, or Force = Mass * Acceleration. Because you're interested in in speed we can change it to Acceleration = Force / Mass, or A = F/M.

This is why SUV's get crappy gas mileage. The heavier an object is, the more force is required to make it accelerate.

The part that sucks:
Accelerating to the speed of light would require an incredible amount of force! And remember that no matter how much force you apply, it's divided by the objects mass (or weight).
Einstein argued that it is impossible for anything that weighs anything to ever reach the speed of light :(, it would simply require too much force. And anything that generates force would have mass, adding to the problem.

With our current understanding of physics, E = MC^2 (a formula that today we think should last as long as the universe), it is impossible.

If you could accomplish this amazing feat, however, the door to time travel would be forever opened.

But hey, your imagination can take you to the other side of the universe in an instant :).

Answer 3

The speed of light is really a misnomer.

It is really the speed at which all of the interactions or forces in the universe travel - electrostatic (which gives us light), weka, strong and gravity. More importantly, this speed is the same for everyone, regardless of how they are moving.

Given these two facts - confirmed from experiment - it follows that the speed of light is an upper limit. There is no process - even theoretical - by which known matter could reach the speed of light. This limit even holds in more esoteric theories like string theory.

Answer 4

Cherenkov radiation (also spelled Cerenkov or sometimes Čerenkov) is electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle passes through an insulator at a speed greater than the speed of light in that medium. The characteristic "blue glow" of nuclear reactors is due to Cherenkov radiation. It is named after Russian scientist Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, the 1958 Nobel Prize winner who was the first to rigorously characterize it.

Answer 5

No, never, not ever. E=MC^2 Says No. and it does not lie!

It's hard to conceive, but as you go faster and faster your mass increaces. At everyday speeds this is not remotely noticeable. but think about this, whats easier to push a two inch toy car or a full sized car? The full sized car! The more mass you have the more energy you need to push it. As you aproach the speed of light your mass becomes so great you need an infinite amount of energy to cross that boundry. and an infinite amount of energy does not exist!

Answer 6

impossible
remember the theory of E=mc2 (mc square)
c as speed of light which is a constant

what ever you use can not push a object faster than the light speed, because the extra energy will be converted to mass.

Answer 7

no, no, No, NO NO NO! Nothing (with mass) can ever go the speed of light let alone exceed it. It has been experimentally shown that when things move fast, their mass increases, as the speed approaches the speed of light, the mass approaches infinity. were it to go at the speed of light, it would have an infinite mass, which is impossible.

Answer 8

No. Mass increases approaching infinity as speed approaches the speed of light, so the speed of light can't be achieved except by light (and other radiation of the same type).

Then again, that's just in terms of our current "knowledge", so ...?

Answer 9

No, to make it possible we have to still the time and contract space. There is no way we are going to change the laws of space and time, atleast not on this universe.

Answer 10

Not as long as $hit rolls down hill!

Answer 11

Yes but not in our life time.