Why can't something travel at the speed of light or faster?

Question

I know that theoretically nothing can travel at the speed of light. The closer you get to the speed of the light the more your mass increases, hinting that if you could reach the speed of light your mass would be infinite. I think there's also something about time slowing down. What I want to know though, is why do scientists think this? What's so special about this certain speed that renders it unattainable? And why do all these "special" things start to happen when you travel extremely fast? Why is the speed of light different than any other speed, in regards to us being able to go that fast?

Answer 1

Scientist think this because there is no way to really know...yet. That is why we have our best guesses, or theories. Until we actually get to that speed, we really won't know. Remember that there had once been all sorts of "goog" scientific theories concerning the speed of sound. Well, once we achieved that speed, we actually knew what happens. Wouldn't it be surprising if none of the things scientists believe happens actually happen at that speed! Some think it is just nature's speed limit. Maybe Star Trek has it right. The fact is that we just don't know, but it is science's job to make the best guess, and so far, Einstein's theories are still our best guess...but it is only a best guess based on what we now know. A hundred years from now, well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what they come up with.

Answer 2

I think this is a very good question! I've never really thought of it so basically.

At what speed would you the Asker Want Light to be? If This limit is not good, What limit Might be?? The only logical possibility would be Infinite, Instantaneous speed! What might be Those properties?

As I ponder, I find myself thinking in more and more abstract, almost Theological terms. Why is there a Limit to Anything?

If C were infinite in speed, what might be the consequences?
Let me think??

What you do would be Immediately known to me. ( Instant info transfer)

Action and reaction would be Immediate or contemporaneous!

I guess that without a Limit to the Speed of Light, then there might not even be Time! (As we know it, linear!)

I am thinking that without Certain constraints on our Universe, this might not be a FUNCTIONING Universe?!!!
If the Mediation of Light and It's limitations were not as they are, it could be that the entire Universe would not function as it does!

The possibilities are Fascinating!!! (Although perhaps Mortal!)
Will wonder about this for awhile, a Little while! :-)

While at it, why not consider the Effects of Non-Linear Time and Classical Physics working at the Quantum Level?? (No Heisenberg Probabilities??) :-)

To tell the Truth, I suspect that the limiting Physical Traits of This Universe, Indirectly supports the Idea that this maybe a Finite Universe, and thus implies alternative Universes. If we have limitations in our existence, Infinite Potential would almost necessitate alternative opportunities for Other universes. A limited existence in an Infinite Potential, allows a Lot of room for alternative possibilities!

Answer 3

Photons do go at the speed of light.

If (and that is a big if, even though it is accepted by the scientific community), if the Lorentz length compression is true, then the time it takes to go from any point A to any point B appears shorter as you travel faster and faster.

L = Lo * SQRT(1 - v^2)
where Lo is the 'proper length' and v is the speed expressed as a fraction of the speed of light.

Speed = distance / time
therefore
time = distance / speed.

How long does it take to go from A to B?

The distance between any two specified points in the universe is a finite distance. (Lo = a number)

If your speed is equal to the speed of light (v = 1) then the perceived distance L = Lo * SQRT(1-1) = 0.

Therefore, the time it takes to get there is:

Time = L / v = 0/v = 0

In other words, once something is going at the speed of light, then, where ever it is going, it is already there. If that is true, then it would not make sense to go faster.

Contrary to popular belief, if you could, you would not go back in time, you would go 'sideways' in complex time:

Let us say that you can go twice the speed of light V=2

Then the distance from A to B would become

L = Lo*SQRT(1-4) = Lo*SQRT(-3)

and the time taken for the trip would be

T = Lo*SQRT(-3)/2

I can't make sense of a time that contains the square root of a negative number. However I know that it is NOT the same as negative time.

As to why these things happen, we do not know. What we do know is that the speed of light always appears the same, whatever speed you are traveling at. So, if you are traveling at v = 0.99999999999... and someone on board was to switch on a flashlight pointing forward, the beam would appear, even in relation to you, to travel at the speed of light.

Even though we have never traveled at v=0.99999, we can measure the speed of photons from stopped and from moving emitters with enough accuracy to see that the speed of light stays the same, whatever the speed of the 'flashlight'.

It is in trying to solve this apparent paradox that Lorentz and later, Einstein, arrived at the conclusion that there must be something special about that speed.

Answer 4

It's not a theory, it's an observed fact. It was observed over and over again, years before Einstein.

In the late nineteenth century, several scientists had discovered that light always traveled at a constant speed, regardless of the frame of reference in which it was measured. (For a good example, see the work of Michelson and Morley.) The results of these experiments seemed so bizarre at the time, many were reluctant to publish them.

Then along came Einstein. His bright idea was just to accept that the speed of light is always 300,000 km/s on the face of it. He predicted that since the speed of light was constant, something else must be changing: as an object approaches that speed, mass increases, length contracts, and time dilates (i.e. slows down.) It sounds crazy, but the math checks out, and so far every experiment supports these predictions.

Think of it this way: 300,000 km/s is just a universal constant. It represents the absolute maximum space is willing to bend. Light happens to travel at that speed because, having no mass, it can. Everything with mass requires energy to accelerate, and since mass increases as it approaches this limit, so does the amount of force needed to accelerate further. For anything with mass to reach 1.0 c would require an infinite amount of energy.

Answer 5

Whalll actually, something does travel at the speed of light; photons.

What you're talking about is Einstein's Theory of Relativity; E=MC^2, where E equals energy, M is mass and C^2 is the speed of light squared.

Basically, and I'm certain you can get this from Wikipedia in much more detail, this theory states that as an object approaches the speed of light, the energy required to accelerate it becomes infinite and therefore it is theoretically impossible to move a object of any mass at the speed of light. This is why photons can move at the speed of light, they have no mass!

You're gonna get a whole bunch of techno answers but this is the gist of it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

yeah, it all has to do with relativity. It's all about how time relates to the speed of light; my very limited understanding is, if your speed gets close to the speed of light, time will slow down and you will never be able to reach it. It's almost like some kind of asymptote on a graph.

Answer 7

You need to read Einstein's theory of relativity. His theory is the one that scientists accept as the reasoning behind nothing being able to travel faster than c. It also explains the changes in mass, time, etc. that occur at or near c.

Answer 8

something already travels past the speed of light and so far is unmeasurable as to it's speed. it's called your mind.
remember your first kiss? you are there in an instant,
your first car? well there you are, all in your mind, faster than the speed of light.
it was said that the speed of sound could not be broken let alone light, but the speed of light had already been broken just by one's thoughts well before sound was (cart before the horse scenario). it's just easier to put more gas to a jet to attain the "pass the sound barrier" idea.
and just another note: a black hole has a very strong gravitational strong pull, so strong light cannot escape from one, so that leads one to believe that gravity is in fact stronger than the force of light or speed. i'm not wanting to go into
physics or the like, just keep your mind open to all of the possibilities of what goes on in our universe and please don't stop asking questions, it is the only way that you will learn.

Answer 9

what happen when you travel at the speed of light ?

in a very simple term i can say no element can travel at the speed of light because light is consider other medium.

so for you to travel at the light of speed you have to change into light

this is told by 'EINSTEIN'

Answer 10

Like asking, why don't object drop up? The physical laws of the universe in either case. ~