i the hollywood films and series we see space travel and intergalastic travels. But how can we communicate with other stations which are light-years appart without much delay while any kind of radiation can have atmost the speed of light?
2007-01-19 05:01:23 · 11 answers · asked by Aaron J 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Zach T:
> Actually, theoretically, yes, it is possible to communicate faster
> than light thanks to the Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox.
No, actually this is not true. That is, it is true that the particles appear to be in "instantaneous communication", but it is not true that they can carry information. The reason is kind of subtle. It has to do with quantum uncertainty. 2 particles are linked so you can measure one in your home in Berkeley and I can theoretically measure the other in my home on Mars and we instantly know the same value. The problem is if you make any effort to control the orientation of your particle the wave function collapses and the link is lost. All we can actually communicate is a string of random values, which is useless for carrying information.
I was just reading about this in Greene's book, The Fabric of the Cosmos. It is a very thorough and interesting read if you are interested in this type of stuff.
Currently the thinking is that time travel might be theoretically possible through worm holes, but the technology to accomplish this is so far beyond what we can do that it is not worth even dreaming about yet. (for one, the energy involved would be dozens of orders of magnitude higher than we can supply)
2007-01-19 07:39:48 · answer #1 · answered by sofarsogood 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actually, theoretically, yes, it is possible to communicate faster than light thanks to the Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox. This deals heavily with the Pauli Exclusion principle and other theories that have been tested at the forefront of quantum mechanics. The theory behind it goes something like this:
Fermion particles exist with antisymmetric wave functions. If two fermions occupy the same area in space, they must have different spins. Electrons are fermions, and in atoms, pairs of electrons occupy the same space, like the 1s or 3p orbitals. This means that the two electrons in an orbital must have different spins.
Now thanks to various other quantum mechanical rules, chiefly the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, an electron's spin is completely indeterminate until measured. Since the 2 electrons must have different spin, once one has a determined spin, the other must also, and it immediately gains a spin. This phenomenon is called quantum entanglement.
So the principle for faster than light communication here is that you take two entangled electrons and separate them. You then later measure one and the other's state is immediately determined.
Quantum mechanics violates many principles held by relativity very often, which is why it is so difficult to merge the two theories into one theory of everything.
2007-01-19 05:33:43 · answer #2 · answered by Zach T 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Speed of light is the fasted speed. Right now fiber optics use light to communicate, which is pretty much the fastest it can go. Though that requires a connection through a cable. So I doubt the would be possible in space. So space communication would most likely be slower.
2007-01-19 05:10:08 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
We can not. A big NO.
However, an imaginary particle can travel faster than the speed of light.
Further more, group velocity and phase velocity can sometimes travel faster than the speed of light.
You search for Einstein's papers and see if he did give light's speed limit an explanation. It is something to do with Maxwell's Equations.
2007-01-19 05:24:30 · answer #4 · answered by chanljkk 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Can we? No. Could we? Theoretically it should be possible but you really need to read some of the good stuff out there. It is very complex. No answer given here can cover everything. I would recommend as a starting point 'The Universe in a Nutshell' by Dr. Stephen Hawking. It is interesting and even this dumb blonde could understand it!
2007-01-19 05:08:16 · answer #5 · answered by Elizabeth Howard 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not according to the laws of space and time. Some people speculate that we might be able to use an alternate dimension, hyperspace, wormholes, or space-time warping to accomplish faster-than-light travel, but no evidence exists to show that any of these are actually possible.
2007-01-19 05:20:43 · answer #6 · answered by computerguy103 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Can't communicate faster than the speed of light. Science fiction ignores a lot of reality.
2007-01-19 05:08:05 · answer #7 · answered by hcbiochem 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Nope. And never will be able to.
It is this limit on the speed with which particles can communicate in the universe that keeps it stable and in existence at all. Remove it, and particle/antiparticle pairs could anihilate regardless of how far apart they were - so the universe could just spontaneously wipe itself out.
2007-01-19 05:12:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
at this time NO
there may be ways to do this eventually but there is not yet a real need
there are several speculative 'technologies' but there is no way to investigate them at this time
like telepathy, or a whole dimension where EVERYTHING is moving FASTER than light
go ahead an ddevelop something
2007-01-19 05:09:15 · answer #9 · answered by mike c 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
nothing can move faster than the speed of light which is appx 186,000 miles per second
2007-01-19 08:04:39 · answer #10 · answered by th3_ch0s3n_0n3 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋