Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity Get Warp Speed Extension

Dailytech ^ | October 12, 2012 2:07 PM | Jason Mick (Blog)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

New theory describes faster than light travel, could explain CERN's results

Some of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century, including Albert Einstein, consider the speed of light a sort of universal "speed limit".  But over the past couple decades physicists theorized that it should be possible to break this law and get away with it -- to travel faster than the speed of light.

I. CERN Results Potentially Described

One of several possible routes to faster-than-light travel was potentially demonstrated when researchers at CERN, the European physics organization known for maintaining the Large Hadron Collider, sent high-energy particles through the Earth's crust from Geneva, Switzerland to INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy.  In a result that is today highly controversial, the team claimed that the particles were observed travelling in excess of the speed of light.

Now physics theory may finally be catching up.  Math researchers at the University of Adelaide -- located in the middle South of Australia -- have developed new formulas to describe the relationship between energy, mass, and velocity (which incorporates length and time) for objects traveling faster than the speed of light.  The formulas modify Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, a fundamental pillar of our understanding of the universe.

_{Einstein formulated his Theory of Special Relativity in 1905. [Image Source: AP]}

Math professor Jim Hill, a co-author of the paper writes, "Questions have since been raised over the experimental results [from CERN] but we were already well on our way to successfully formulating a theory of special relativity, applicable to relative velocities in excess of the speed of light."

He elaborates, "Our approach is a natural and logical extension of the Einstein Theory of Special Relativity, and produces anticipated formulae without the need for imaginary numbers or complicated physics."

The study's other co-author, Dr. Barry Cox, adds, "We are mathematicians, not physicists, so we've approached this problem from a theoretical mathematical perspective... Our paper doesn't try and explain how this could be achieved, just how equations of motion might operate in such regimes."

II. Placating the Critics

The authors obviously recognize the controversy surrounding both experimental and theoretical work regarding challenging the light speed limitation attached to the special theory of relativity.  Write the authors in the abstract, "In this highly controversial topic, our particular purpose is not to enter into the merits of existing theories, but rather to present a succinct and carefully reasoned account of a new aspect of Einstein's theory of special relativity, which properly allows for faster than light motion."

_{Many believe faster-than-light travel may be possible. [Image Source: LucasFilm, Ltd.]}

The paper proposes two sets of equations -- one based on an invariant set of "frame transitions", the other based on a "frame transition" with the invariance limitation removed.  The authors suspect that if faster than light travel is possible, that the physical behavior of the faster-than-light travelling object is described by one of these equations.

Note, such work is relatively independent from forms of faster-than-light travel that do not violate Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, such as warping space via a massive energy source.

The paper was published [abstract] in the prestigious peer-reviews journal The Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

Source: RSPA

[Leaning Right]

I'm not against people trying, that's how science advances. But these announcements all follow the same two-step sequence.

Step 1: Researchers announce that they have surpassed the speed of light!

Step 2 (some months later): Researchers find a flaw in their experiment. Speed of light not surpassed after all.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related thread:

2nd test affirms faster-than-light particles

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

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The paper proposes two sets of equations -- one based on an invariant set of "frame transitions", the other based on a "frame transition" with the invariance limitation removed. The authors suspect that if faster than light travel is possible, that the physical behavior of the faster-than-light travelling object is described by one of these equations.

[The Cajun]

2nd test affirms faster-than-light particles

Waiting for the "Oh crap, another bad cable connection found" article to come out.........Just saying.

[Donkey Odious]

But can they make the Kessell run in under twelve parsecs?

[103198]

mark...

[Leaning Right]

The paper proposes two sets of equations...

I hear you. But any equation is highly suspect if it does not have repeatable experimental evidence to back it up.

I'll follow this story with interest, but also with great skepticism. My money is still on Big Al (Einstein, that is).

[OldNavyVet]

From a math major ... Two beams traveling in opposite directions at the speed of light are relatively traveling at twice the speed of light.

QED.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[JRandomFreeper]

Relative to WHAT?

I thought the Michelson-Morley experiment put paid to that.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Disclaimer: I am a cook, not a physicist or math guy.

/johnny

[mikrofon]

"Hunh, I never stopped t' think that it was SPACE that was movin'!"

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

What happens when a spaceship traveling the speed of light turns on its headlights? :-)

[umgud]

I’d like to comment, but I’m just not up to speed on this.

[Utmost Certainty]

Relative to each other.

Any measurement value re: the speed of something, is relative to the speed of the measurement frame.

[Citizen Tom Paine]

To the best of my knowledge, if you are traveling at a velocity (a vector quantity with magnitude and direction) less than the speed of light you cannot exceed the speed of light because your mass will become infinite, i.e., blow up. However, the equation is also quite specific. If your velocity is greater than the speed of light, an object can exist. The question is how to get it going at those velocities.IMHO

[Marine_Uncle]

I put my brain is in the freezer today. Hard to even contemplate on this news. Meanwhile I just got a call from my one brother that is returning from a European vacation and is going to stop by shortly. So guess I’m logging out for the duration.

[JRandomFreeper]

So, what, perzactly is the measurement frame we're talking about?

Michalson and Morley proved that there were no interference patterns for beams going with each other, against each other or at 90 degrees to each other.

Earth orbit was chosen for the experiment because it was pretty darn handy, and everything else wasn't.

Once again, I'm just a cook, exploring the mysteries of physics.

/johnny

[Cboldt]

-- Two beams traveling in opposite directions at the speed of light are relatively traveling at twice the speed of light. --

That's Newton's theory of relativity. It is a good approximation for relative speeds under about 100,000 kilometers per second.