I concocted this a while ago, and I thought I'd throw it out on the net to see why I'm wrong. So supposedly it's impossible for anything to go faster than light; this includes information. So considering this, what about information that is passed along a solid object. For example, if I have a really long diamond pole (diamond because it seems least likely to compress) and moved it forward an inch, that movement would manifest itself at the other end of the poll instantaneously no matter how long it is. I know that this is entirely impractically because the distances where it will matter to transmit information faster than the speed of light, are also the distances where it is impossible to create a stick that long. None the less, it is interesting to think about. I'm probably wrong though, so let me know.
2007-03-14 13:29:10 · 4 answers · asked by Aaron 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Nothing is infinitely rigid, not even diamonds.
When you push on one end of the long pole, it will compress. It may only compress a tiny, tiny bit, but it will still compress and the pole will not respond to your push instantaneously. It will take time for the other end of the pole to ‘known’ that it is being pushed on the other end.
Pushing on one end of the pole causes those atoms at the end to push on the next set of atoms, then those atoms will push on the next set, and so on …
This series of compressions within the pole as the ‘push’ is transmitted through, takes time and if limed (like other things) by the speed of light.
Someone on the other end of the pole will have to wait for the signal to propagate down to their end before they know that you are pushing on the pole, and the absolute maximum speed that this information can travel is the speed of light.
2007-03-14 15:30:42 · answer #1 · answered by mrjeffy321 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You wouldn't be able to do it. Even with something as rigid as a diamond pole, pushing it from one end would send a series of signals down the pole, each of which travels at or less than the speed of light.
As you push the row of atoms closest to you, they're telling the next row of atoms to move, which tell the next row to move, and so on and so on. The diamond rod would compress, although the amount of compression at each point would be hard to measure.
2007-03-14 20:37:06 · answer #2 · answered by Rando 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, NO, **NO**!!! It does *not* move 'instantaneously'. Motion is transmitted through the carbon crystal latice that forms the pole and the 'information' that one end has moved cannot propagate through the latice any faster than lightspeed.
HTH âº
Doug
2007-03-14 20:45:51 · answer #3 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would be limited by the speed of phonons. Yes phonons, not photons.
2007-03-14 21:42:00 · answer #4 · answered by beren 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋