either to travel back in time. If this is the case, what if any effect would this have on the past?
2006-12-27 15:16:58 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Thank you wpreddog5...
2006-12-27 15:27:04 · update #1
wel certainly, why i do it all the time with no ill affects affects affects affects affects affects affects affects
2006-12-27 15:20:56 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A tachyon is a theoretical particle that can travel at superluminal speeds. So, obviously, if they exist, than yes, they travel faster than light. However they have not been proved to exist.
The speed of light is based on the speed of the massless photon. One could call the speed of light the speed of photons. They travel at the constant rate c, the speed of light, which does not change. (Thus constant) Therefor they do not travel faster than light.
2006-12-27 23:27:38 · answer #2 · answered by Robert 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tachyons are theoretical - not been observed. All photons are light and travel at the speed of light in a vacuum. No, you can't travel back in time.
2006-12-27 23:21:52 · answer #3 · answered by eri 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If they are superluminal, they travel backwards in time. The effect that they have depends on where they stop or what they interact with. One theory states that when they interact with the past, they create time cleft which creates a totally different universe. That gets complicated, and I'm not sure that I agree with the math.
2006-12-27 23:33:28 · answer #4 · answered by Bernard B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tachyons were invented when someone thought of a "parallel" universe, separated from ours by the speed of light. Massive objects in that other universe cannot go slower than the speed of light (as measured from our frame of reference). The only objects that can exist in both universes are photons (massless) because they go at exactly the speed of light.
If you want to exercise your imagination on time-travel, you would do better with Feynman's interpretation of anti-particles. For him, an anti-electron (positron) is an electron that is moving backwards in time. For us, when we see an electron collide with a positron, they appear to annihilate each other and create photons (their mass is transformed into energy according to E = mc^2).
For him, the electron was moving normally in time (and space) until it was hit by energy and brounced backwards in time.
The fun part: mathematically, it makes sense.
PS: The "speed of light in a vacuum" is the maximum speed in our universe. Photons will travel at that speed only in a true vacuum. Photons in glass or in water (or in air) will travel at the speed of light in that medium, which is usually slower than the speed of light in a vacuum (never faster).
In fact, it is possible for particles travelling at "almost" the speed of light in a vacuum, to enter such a medium at a speed higher than the speed of light in that medium. In such cases, they can emit Cherenkov radiation. Such particles (and the accompanying Cherenkov radiation) have been detected; the particles were NOT travelling backwards in time.
2006-12-27 23:23:26 · answer #5 · answered by Raymond 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋