Wether it is electrons or protoms or photons how fast can they go without breaking some law out there.
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Wether it is electrons or protoms or photons how fast can they go without breaking some law out there.
a cheetah taking a piss at 70 mph?
fastest pissible human: Usain Bolt taking a piss at the 40m mark of the 100m sprint.
fastest pissible human (again): skydiver taking a piss at 100 mph in free fall
Neutrinos travel pretty close to the speed of light (because of their low mass).
But any particle can approach the speed of light if given enough energy: https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/OhMyGodParticle/
Photons always travel at the speed of light.
Nothing ravels faster.
Nothing can travel faster than light. You can give it mre and more energy and it will just get closer and closer to the speed of light - but never reach it.
EDIT: note that I wrote this after misreading the previous comment as "proton" not photon. Obviously, photons always travel at one speed.
Last edited by Strange; May 10th, 2014 at 07:39 AM.
But is there a scientific explanation for this?
You are right. I misread that as proton.
This is because velocities do not add linearly (as they appear to at low speeds): Einstein velocity additionQuestion: is there a law aaying nothing can pass the speed of light
I dont believe einsteins equation tells us the fastest possible thing I think it shows that to an observer light Is the fastest possible thing.
As something approaches the speed of light energy starts to show up as increased mass instead of as increased velocity. The increase in frequency for electromagnetic waves is another form of the increased energy showing up in a different way than an increase in velocity.
you can look up (internet search) and find what the fastest speed has been attained by particles in a particle accelerator. probably something like 0.999999996 c (just guessing).
tip: look up results at the Large Hadron Collider LHC).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
Last edited by Chucknorium; May 9th, 2014 at 05:35 PM.
Thanks for the explanation dan hunter, cleared up a lot.
the bottom line answer to 'what is the fastest possible thing?' is . . .
whatever new particle accelerator has pushed a particle the fastest, then that particle is the fastest thing that we know of . . . today.
I'm completely new here, but I have one slight issue with this, technically, while the object's energy and momentum increase, its mass remains constant. This is formalized by Einstein's equations: E=gamma*m, p = gamma*m*v (setting c=1, of course; gamma = 1/Sqrt(1-v^2)). Thus, we can see that the mass of an object remains constant, while its energy and momentum increase with speed. Mass is defined to be constant for objects, this is what makes it a useful quantity.
Thanks, that's rather a good point. I remember very little about relativity and I have always thought mass increases with energy input, but I do see what you mean about these equations (and also I see Markus has given his imprimatur to your post). But tell me, how do these equations deal with the net loss of mass we observe in nuclear fission, for example? Does that not indicate a real change of mass as a function of energy change?
No.
The photons always travel at the speed of light. If something could add velocities or take away velocities from light, Einsteins thought experiment in which a moving observer travels at lightspeed, the question was could he still see his reflection: Indeed, lightspeed was invariant. The speed of c then, is invariant in all moving frames.
If it makes any difference, things can go faster than light and not break any rules. These are called Tachyons and there are analogue tachyons, such as electrons in superconductors will move at speeds faster than light giving off a blue glow called Cherenkov radiation.
Except there is no evidence they exist (and good theoretical reasons why they can't).
Just to be clear: they go faster than the the speed of light in that medium.and there are analogue tachyons, such as electrons in superconductors will move at speeds faster than light giving off a blue glow called Cherenkov radiation.
''Good theoretical reasons...'' Can you explain some of these to us? I know tachyon theory very well and the largest problem is detecting them.
And I think analogue tachyons/electrons qualify as the fastest objects moving, no one specified whether it had to be a vacuum medium.
You don't seem to be biting so I will explain the current ''objections.''
One group says it violates physics. This is the uneducated group who think that faster than light always implies violating physics in some way.
One objection is a Lorentz invariance breakdown so that the speed of light is no longer ''universal.'' Some say this cannot happen because nature doesn't violate Lorentz invariance. Well actually, neutrino's as an example break Lorentz invariance through their oscillations so we now know that breaking this invariance is fundamentally possible. This may mean there could be an underlying field which may have existed or may still exist in which tachyons are naturally part of the universe. Some string theories cannot even think without them.
As I said, if tachyons do exist, the problem will be trying to detect them. Cherenkov radiation is a problem in the sense a tachyon should give up energy, this is why a neutrino cannot move at speed faster than light, it will always give up energy as it approaches it. For a tachyon, its different. They have infinite amounts of energy at the speed of light (their lowest speed).
I think it introduces problems with conservation of energy. Which isn't insurmountable, if we actually found evidence of them, of course.
Well, they are not the fastest things moving, because other things can move faster.And I think analogue tachyons/electrons qualify as the fastest objects moving, no one specified whether it had to be a vacuum medium.![]()
Tachyons violate important things like causality. With faster-than-light communication, it would be possible to make complementary events happen in the wrong order (like observing a message being received before observing it sent) or creating paradoxes (like receiving a message and then remotely stopping the sender before they send the message, preventing the message from being sent in the first place).
Some approaches in gravity are taking interesting turns which are having to involve Lorentz invariance violation. I think this is the right track, conventional rules only seem to appear in nature from some violation or something more fundamental.
Photons can only travel at one speed. THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
Frumpydolphin - If you give a photon more energy it increases it's frequency though its speed remains 299,792,458 m/s. It's wavelength will decrease giving it more energy.
Strange. Giving a photon more energy can not accelerate a photon to the speed of light as "Photons can only travel at one speed. THE SPEED OF LIGHT."
Well the violation doesn't fit just one model, it fits them all
Current experimental results indicate that neutrinos do indeed oscillate. These oscillations have a variety of possible implications, including the existence of neutrino masses, and the presence of several types of Lorentz violation.
Good indication, I would have thought. Unless you can find yourself some model in which it can explain it with better efficiency, then I am likely to trust this one so far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorentz-violating_neutrino_oscillations
Most scientists I have spoke to over the years, seem to think this is what is happening. You do realize Lorentz invariance is an assumption? Yes it is true we have never seen anything move faster than light doesn't mean it cannot. The universe might not be biased at the core of it. It certainly doesn't have any concept of universal speed I'd wager.
Also, Lorentz violation occurs when it's covariant cousin is spontaneously broken and allows Goldstone bosons (like a ground state photon).
Well that one is probably solved by it's brother, Chronological Censorship: Reality will not allow us to detect violations. So it even applies macroscopically in this sense as well. Though such detection is largely modelled using singularities, such detection of time violating physics may lead to an information singularity of similar means.
Unlike many people, I come here not to troll but to engage in serious conversations about physics. I don't come here and expect a reasonably rational question like the one you posed, only to be told I should see through the sarcasm, which about 2 out of 10 times I often fail to do.
If it is, it is an extraordinarily well verified one. There aren't many things that have been confirmed in so many ways, to such high levels of accuracy.
And that is not the reason it is thought that nothing can travel faster than light.Yes it is true we have never seen anything move faster than light doesn't mean it cannot.
Strange, what are you talking about? Of course it is, the only evidence is a lack of any experimental evidence of a particle moving faster than light in a vacuum.
However, as I said, invariance is already broken in a number of ways in physics, one such way is through Goldstone bosons in which the speed of light is slightly less in spontaneous symmetry breaking.
The theory of relativity....
Oh thank god we have such sophistication here.
For your information, nothing in relativity specifically says tachyons cannot exist. The mechanical reason why nothing can reach the speed of light in relativity is because it requires an infinite amount of energy. (This would be given up by Cherenkov radiation) which means it never has an infinite amount of energy because it doesn't reach the speed of light. Tachyons are hypothetical particles that begin their speed at superluminal velocities. It doesn't actually violate relativity.
And if you have no idea what spontaneous symmetry breaking is, or what a Goldstone boson is or how they are implemented into spontaneous symmetry breaking, then I suggest you break open a book or something, or even better, put me back on ignore because I don't like you either.
Anyway... before Prof. Strange replies, I will inform you again that Lorentz violations do happen in physics, in fact, they have to happen in spontaneous symmetry breaking.
As explained, Lorentz covariance is broken when spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs. This leads to phonons, which travel at a speed just a little under the speed of light (these are Goldstone bosons).
Of course not. Who said it did?
That is one (simplistic) way of looking at it. Although, really that is a consequence of the equation for relativistic acceleration, rather than the reason.The mechanical reason why nothing can reach the speed of light in relativity is because it requires an infinite amount of energy.
OK. I see what you mean. The non-existence of tachyons is based on the lack of observational evidence. That has nothing to do with the speed of light being a maximum (or, in the case of tachyons, a minimum) velocity.Tachyons are hypothetical particles that begin their speed at superluminal velocities. It doesn't actually violate relativity.
I do have an idea. Which is why I am unable to understand your second paragraph.And if you have no idea what spontaneous symmetry breaking is, or what a Goldstone boson is or how they are implemented into spontaneous symmetry breaking
Similar to the approximate Lorentz symmetry of phonons in a lattice (where the speed of sound plays the role of the critical speed), the Lorentz symmetry of special relativity (with the speed of light as the critical speed in vacuum) is only a low-energy limit of the laws of Physics
Extracted from wiki. Earlier I was going to say something similar but didn't think anyone was ready for it... but since it is recognized here, anyone who follows my work, my work is about remodeling physics appropriately to their energy-scales (this includes important questions like when matter appears in the universe and explains why time is emergent). Among those things, Lorentz invariance is also a low energy phenomenon, it appears when the known ''laws'' of relativity set into motion (which was when the universe begins to cool down).
Lorentz invariance might be broken as you approach the beginning of big bang.
You keep saying this. But you haven't provided any support. Anyone who had experimental evidence of Lorentz violation would probably be in line for a Nobel Prize.
Modern searches for Lorentz violation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaModern searches for Lorentz violation are scientific studies that look for deviations from Lorentz invariance or symmetry, a set of fundamental frameworks that underpin modern science and fundamental physics in particular. ... Both terrestrial and astronomical experiments have been carried out, and new experimental techniques have been introduced. No Lorentz violations could be measured thus far, and exceptions in which positive results were reported have been refuted or lack further confirmations.
It won't be about ''if'' it happens. It's a matter of ''when'' we detect this violation, if the universe allows us to detect the phenomenon. A lot physics doesn't make sense without these violations. Sure I could be wrong, but this is more than a belief. As I said, too much physics actually somewhat relies on these interpretations of violations.
You don't provide a source, but it appears to be from here: Lorentz covariance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia where it is talking about hypothetical models. At the end of that section, it says:
Even though there is no evidence of the violation of Lorentz invariance, several experimental searches for such violations have been performed during recent years.
I could argue neutrino oscillations are evidence for Lorentz symmetry breaking.
Read it for yourself on Lorentz violating models, Lorentz covariance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(and by the way, tach, you shouldn't be talking about anyone being a master troll when you are trolling, right here right now. So far conversations have been relatively pleasant, since you not being here... Let's see how quickly this escalates now.)
If there is evidence, then please provide a reference to the peer-reviewed journal where it has been published. (Shouldn't be difficult for such world-changing results.)
And of course there is no proof; this is science. there is never proof.
It is just theoretical model. Until confirmed by evidence. Anyone can create a mathematical model which is wrong. That isn't evidence of anything.What is a theoretical model, if not evidence?
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Of course a mathematical model accounts as evidence. To think it doesn't... I mean... do you have any idea what you are saying?
Evidence doesn't need to be solid in the hand, able to touch and see. Evidence comes in many different forms. Only thing that doesn't change, is to get the absolute proof then yes, we need to observe the violation or in the meanwhile get some indirect evidence, which there appears to be plenty of.
There is no such thing as "Lorentz violating models", Reiku. There are though , several "Lorentz symmetry violating models". You obviously have no clue, you aren't impressing anyone with your persistent posturing. One last kick in your pants: there is no experimental confirmation of any of these "Lorentz symmetry violating models".
Can a mod please correct the thread title? I thought this thread was about the quickest liquid to pass through the human body.
you think it's beer or coffee?
Wait...is that Reiku from sciforums?
If you don't understand how saying there appears to be working models and then saying this is ''not evidence'' I'm afraid it's you who doesn't understand how physics works.
It's exactly the same as how when over the last couple of years scientists have been creating simulations of the universe, which as they said ''added evidence to the idea that we may be living in a simulation.''
This is a good example, how even if a model only suits the mathematical side of things, still acts as evidence.
Even to just show a thing in physics and argue it mathematically, can be evidence in itself. Some physics have been largely mathematical and turned out to be correct over the years, such as the Dirac Equation.
Very famous story behind it, Dirac wedded Relativity and quantum mechanics completely mathematically.
It wasn't until later after the equations discovery was the positron discovered. This was the first mathematical evidence directly predicting quantum phenomenon.
One of the most contradictory statements I have ever heard. You do know, the math makes the model? The model yes has parameters in the context of quantum mechanics and special relativity, but to say the mathematical conclusions where not the evidence, the model was, is a contradiction. The model was entirely mathematical. It predicted the positron before any experimental evidence supported it.
All of the no. You're not even addressing what I said. I'll say it again in a different way, for clarity. The mathematics is not evidence. The mathematics form a model. The model makes predictions which can either be confirmed or denied by evidence. In the case you state, Dirac's model predicted a positron, but was not, in itself, evidence for the positron. The evidence came later and confirmed the validity of Dirac's model.
It is important to make that distinction.
And you said the model is the evidence, not the maths. You can't deal with any respectable paper without the context of mathematics. Mathematics is what adds to the evidence of an assertion, an assertion without mathematics is bunk and meaningless often.
You can't wrap it up either way to suit your ''model comes first over mathematics'' argument. Whatever you model, the topic is irrelevant. The point is that the Dirac Equation, whether based on a model or not, was largely mathematical and predicted phenomenon before it was even observed in the lab.
So to even suggest mathematics doesn't account for evidence is blatantly wrong.
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