Light speed : Impossible?

Question

Since accelerating to the speed of light would take infinate energy, and even if a source could gather all the energy in the universe and control it, the object would reach infinate mass right? Something with infinate mass would do what? Destroy whatever was left of the universe that wasn't used to bring the object tolightspeed with it's gravity?

From my understanding a photon has NO (infinately small) mass and therefore CAN go at the speed of light

Answer 1

First of all, about "mass" — mass and energy are equivalent, but they are not the same thing. A photon has a "rest mass" of zero (0) plus energy which has a major effect of causing it to move. Other "charge" carriers also have rest masses of zero; in fact, that is one of their main characteristics. When a photon is made more, or less, energetic it is usually called more, or less, massive even though it is wrong to refer to the situation this way because it confuses people no end. Oddly, initially this way was chosen as the standard in order NOT to confuse people (i.e.: so they would not wonder why, if mass and energy are equivalent, that we refer to photon energy and not ever photon mass. Explanations of how semiconductors work using "holes" work well too, except that people go away thinking the created-for-the-explanation holes are real things.).

But to be short about it, mass and energy are equivalent, but not the same. It's a LITTLE like how three pounds of ice and three pounds of steam are very different, yet basically the same thing.

Second, nothing that is currently NOT traveling at the speed of light can ever be made to speed up to the speed of light. This is implied by Einstein's work because one can see mathematically that to go closer and closer to the speed of light even larger amounts of energy are required (or, equivalently, but not the same, larger amounts of mass) for each tinier and tinier increment of speed. In fact, it is asymptotic and will never quite reach the speed of light because to do so would require an infinite amount of energy to be added and that simply cannot happen. More accurately, that mathematical point is called "undefined" rather than "infinity" as most of us call it, inaccurately. "Undefined" when used mathematically means something a lot closer to "does not exist" than it does "infinity." So, since the solution to Einstein's equations is undefined this way, his work, which has withstood 101 years of scrutiny, says not that it requires infinite energy but rather that it cannot ever happen. By the way, and for the same reason, anything brought into existence moving FASTER than the speed of light can never be slowed down to exactly the speed of light. Not that we know of anything that is moving faster, but if we ever find something...

Third, and last, back to mass vs. energy. Though they can be regarded as the same for most things we do with them, they are only equivalent (as in: done somehow correctly, one could be turned into a given amount of the other) and not at all the same. Even the concept of "rest mass" is not perfect as a photon, for instance, NEVER comes to rest. It is always moving at the speed of light in whatever medium it is in whether that be a bath of almost-vacuum space or of ice water or plasma. Speed of light in a bath of energetic electrons is different than in a bath of almost-vacuum in inter-galactic space. So you see the contradiction encased in "rest" of the term "rest mass"? But all non-charge carriers have non-zero rest masses and since they do, they can never have a velocity equal to the speed of light because conditions for them at that velocity are undefined (in the sense of the conditions not even existing, not in the sense of we just have some more work to do), not infinite.

Answer 2

It's infinite mass would have infinite gravity that would pull everything left in the universe into it making its mass more infinite, but since all the mass in the universe was already converted to energy to accelerate the object to light speed, there really isn't anything left in the universe to attract.

Answer 3

because the nature of strings are just beginning to be understood and quantum physics describes some pretty interesting behaviors that photons can observe, i think that this question cannot really be answered yet. However, with the current understanding of the mechanics of a photon, the only thing that can travel the speed of light, makes faster than light or light speed travel impossible. Bending space time however, that is another can of worms...

Answer 4

my only answer is--Photons move at the speed of light and they do require the entire mass of the universe to do so nor do they reach infinite mass.

and Muons should only be able to exist for 2.2 microseconds yet that would limit thier travel to 660 meters at the speed of light and they have reached the earth from space. To say it is impossible is what they used to say about the sound barrier decades ago.

Answer 5

Yeah, but what if we found some substance that was propelled by light? What if this substance rode in front of waves of light like a surfboard? And say we build a vessel out of this substance. You wouldn't need power to accelerate. Just hang on for the ride.

Answer 6

In the real world, nothing is actually infinite. One may suppose that your object being accelerated might eventually acquire enough mass to become a black hole, and eat the gadgetry applying the acceleration.

Answer 7

is it possible for somehthing to move as fast of the speed of light i neccearly dont think so but many scientist have a thery if anyhting moves that fast it makes a black hole, and that if it were possible to move through the milky way galaxy you could go to the past or future

Answer 8

To you or I it would seem presently to be impossible but I submit to you the fact that nothing is impossible if you know how to do it and the mere fact that we don't know how to do it dose not preclude the possibility of it. I challenge anyone to refute this.

Answer 9

scientists used to think at one time that the earth was flat....

scientists also used to believe at one time that if we as humans traveled faster than 15 miles per hour, our heads would literally 'pop' off....

nothing's impossible.

Answer 10

Not Impossible, one could enter a wormhole...