Yet another question.

[Auk]

I was wondering if there is something that can go faster than light. If an object, say a spaceship going the speed of light in between the sun and the earth would.nt the shadow on the earth go faster than the speed of light?

[JaKiri]

Nothing can go past lightspeed, so the question is invalid.

[Deified]

The question is not invalid, because a shadow is not something, it is the absence of light. I'm not sure about the specific instance, but it is possible in some cases. There was a thread about this somewhere on here.

[JaKiri]

The question is not invalid

 

Yes it is.

 

'If one impossible thing happens, is some other impossible thing possible?'

[Artorius]

no FTL is possible CERN among others have actually shown this,however energy transfer is the key here.

[swansont]

Nothing can go past lightspeed, so the question is invalid.

 

Not a true statement. We've discussed this before, in the thread cryptically called Faster than C

[Guest SpeedyString]

An object can go faster then the known speed of light but can not go faster than the light itself. For instance, there is a theory about "strings". The string is an extremely concentrated amount of energy in the shape of a string and is so concentrated that only 3 feet of this string weighs the same as our own planet earth. The whole string theory states that because of this concentration anything close enough to it or in contact with it will greatly accelerate in speed. Therefor if light was near a string it would accelerate so you could then move faster then the origional speed of light (if you were also near this string) and not suffer the consequences of so called "time travel". If you were to somehow move faster then light itself you would be away from earth for a mere year but if you return earth would have passed on one million years.

[Auk]

I didn"t know this was already a thread, plz excuse. I beleive it is possible though.

[[Tycho?]]

What are you basing this belief on?

[ydoaPs]

An object can go faster then the known speed of light but can not go faster than the light itself. For instance, there is a theory about "strings". The string is an extremely concentrated amount of energy in the shape of a string and is so concentrated that only 3 feet of this string weighs the same as our own planet earth. The whole string theory states that because of this concentration anything close enough to it or in contact with it will greatly accelerate in speed. Therefor if light was near a string it would accelerate so you could then move faster then the origional speed of light (if you were also near this string) and not suffer the consequences of so called "time travel". If you were to somehow move faster then light itself you would be away from earth for a mere year but if you return earth would have passed on one million years.

 

huh? hold on. cosmic strings or superstrings. if you are talking about superstrings, you are a bit consfused.

 

edit: some galaxies do go faster than c RELATIVE TO MATTER, but LESS than c RELATIVE TO SPACETIME

[Auk]

'']What are you basing this belief on?

 

I read this possibility in an article from a french magazine called Science et Vie. I did some research and found that the topic was still somewhat controvertial.

[[Tycho?]]

It isn't. There are a couple cases that dont really count, like something to do with phase change, but nothing that carries any information, and certainly no spaceship. It is the most famous laymans result of Einstiens work, and as a rule it sounds quite restricting, and doesn't actually make much sense unless you understand the physics. As a result, there are always tons of people who try to figure out ways to get around it, or claim that it is possible. Those who do tend to know nothing about the physics they are talking about. We've had tons of people come on to these forums claiming to prove relativity wrong in this regard, people seem to like to argue against it for some reason.

[fairychild]

isnt it possible to go into a 4th space dimension and reach a 3d-location faster? theoretically

[5614]

what's a 4th space dimension?

 

i was aware of a 4th dimension (time)... but was is a 4th space dimension?

[fairychild]

an additional axis to the three we already know - and use to determine the location of an object

[Auk]

Sorry for the misunderstanding I realise that I have acted boldly in suggesting such a thing and will do more research before posting a thread.

[ydoaPs]

an additional axis to the three we already know - and use to determine the location of an object

 

like in Kaluza'a theory?

[fairychild]

like in Kaluza'a theory?

yes, but rather the extention by Klein, who claims the 5th dimension not to be independent. generally, as i have posted in another thread, i wouldnt say the reality we perceive is the absolute level. we're just bounded into a small place, squeezed into a system where we exist. there might be other forms of reality (and energy) which we cannot see (yet).