Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

We have broken speed of light
Telegraph ^ | 08/16/2007 | Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent

Posted on 08/17/2007 8:19:28 AM PDT by poiuqwer

A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light - an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time.

According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second.

However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory.

The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons - energetic packets of light - travelled "instantaneously" between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart.

Being able to travel faster than the speed of light would lead to a wide variety of bizarre consequences.

For instance, an astronaut moving faster than it would theoretically arrive at a destination before leaving.

The scientists were investigating a phenomenon called quantum tunnelling, which allows sub-atomic particles to break apparently unbreakable laws.

Dr Nimtz told New Scientist magazine: "For the time being, this is the only violation of special relativity that I know of."


TOPICS: Germany; Technical
KEYWORDS: lightspeed; physics; speedoflight; yesterday
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-100 next last
To: poiuqwer
...energetic packets of light - travelled "instantaneously" between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart.

Figures. The did it using mirrors.

41 posted on 08/17/2007 9:31:15 AM PDT by 6SJ7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: in hoc signo vinces

Actually the Clintons broke the light barrier years ago. They are able to go back in time to erase what they said before if it conflicts with what they are saying now.


42 posted on 08/17/2007 9:32:47 AM PDT by Daveinyork
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: poiuqwer

299,792,458 meters per second. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the Law.


43 posted on 08/17/2007 9:36:10 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (NYT Headline: Protocols of the Learned Elders of CBS: Fake but Accurate, Experts Say)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: poiuqwer
If light emanates from the sun at C in all directions, and the sun is moving around the center of the galaxy at 540,000 miles per hour (forgetting the speed of the galaxy) then something is already moving faster than C.

If light does not emanate from the sun in all directions at C, how does it ‘know’ the speed of the source, given that there is no limiting medium (like sound has)?

Can someone explain this paradox to me please?

44 posted on 08/17/2007 9:37:13 AM PDT by SampleMan (Islamic tolerance is practiced by killing you last.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: poiuqwer
A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light

They're gonna need some duct tape.

45 posted on 08/17/2007 9:38:17 AM PDT by shekkian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pieceofthepuzzle

“I’m so fast I can flip the light switch and get into bed before the room gets dark”

Not bad, but can you sharpen your lawnmower’s blade,
while it’s running?
No? Slow-poke.
T”Flash”D


46 posted on 08/17/2007 9:41:25 AM PDT by tumblindice (Mmmmm-chinese chikken strips)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Vinnie

If you get into a glass chamber make sure there are no flies in it.


Too bad Vincent Price didn’t heed that advice.


47 posted on 08/17/2007 9:44:46 AM PDT by crazyhorse691 (The faithful will keep their heads down, their powder dry and hammer at the enemies flanks.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: RightWhale; TommyDale
"this is the only violation of special relativity that I know of."

I have a girlfriend whose name is, Special Relativity, coincidentally.

She likes it when I violate her special places, relatively speaking

Yesterday's thread was better, though this one is young.

48 posted on 08/17/2007 9:47:46 AM PDT by BOBTHENAILER (One by one, in small groups or in whole armies, we don't care how we do it, but we're gonna getcha)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: SampleMan
If a star moves at (say) half the speed of light through space then the light it sends forwards moves at C, and the light it sends backwards also moves at C. Not at 1/2 C or 3/2 C, like one would expect.

It is this fact which causes all of the strange behaviour of objects moving at near-light speeds that you may have heard about with respect to relativity.

49 posted on 08/17/2007 9:51:19 AM PDT by agere_contra
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: SampleMan

>Can someone explain this paradox to me please?

The speed doesn’t change. Space changes (whatever that is).


50 posted on 08/17/2007 9:52:44 AM PDT by bkepley
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: N3WBI3
photons have no mass.

Photons are protestants? Mercy!

Does the Pope know this?

51 posted on 08/17/2007 9:55:36 AM PDT by Mad Dawg (Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Hoplite

I prefer blue-iculous. Too much emphasis is being placed on the red shift Doppler stuff these days.

p.s. good joke, I liked it.


52 posted on 08/17/2007 9:56:45 AM PDT by Kevmo (We should withdraw from Iraq — via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: poiuqwer

This reminds me of when the Russians claimed to have cooled something to absolute zero, or the cold fusion hoax claims, or any number of perpetual motion theories. Matter teleportation is about the only really new, revolutionary discovery that turned out to be true.


53 posted on 08/17/2007 9:56:52 AM PDT by 2harddrive (...House a TOTAL Loss.....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bkepley; SampleMan
explain this paradox to me please?   ...The speed doesn’t change. Space changes

What's happening is that both space and time change as measured by any one observer.  

Say you're on an escalator traveling at 299,792,457 meters per second (c -1.0 m/s) as measured by the Dept. store saleslady on the mezzanine.  Ordinarily you're able to climb stairs at two meters per second, so you start going up the escalator steps and you confirm your speed with the stopwatch you're carrying.

What ends up happening is that you and your watch slow down, and even though you feel like you're speeding up, the saleslady watches you reaching the next floor at a speed that's less than c.

Trust me, it can't be done; I've tried it.

54 posted on 08/17/2007 10:22:22 AM PDT by expat_panama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: jonascord

"There have been serious studies of emitting a field to impart a positive or negative charge to dust in the path of a vehicle, and the opposite charge to the surface of the craft, making a "repulsor field"."

I think you have that backwards.  Opposite polarity attracts, like polarity repels.

55 posted on 08/17/2007 10:43:57 AM PDT by RebelTex (Help cure diseases: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548372/posts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: RebelTex

You’re quite right, I had it bass ackwards. D’oh!


56 posted on 08/17/2007 11:10:36 AM PDT by jonascord (Hurray! for the Bonny Blue Flag that bears the Single Star!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: holden

[I don’t know how many times you’ve been told to keep your tin foil hat on. :)


57 posted on 08/17/2007 11:50:02 AM PDT by RetSignman (DEMSM: "If you tell a big enough lie, frequently enough, it becomes the truth")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: KayEyeDoubleDee

Yeah, what you said.


58 posted on 08/17/2007 11:53:29 AM PDT by RetSignman (DEMSM: "If you tell a big enough lie, frequently enough, it becomes the truth")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: poiuqwer
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket">
59 posted on 08/17/2007 12:02:13 PM PDT by ulm1 (Unless Republicans coalesce around an ELECTABLE candidate NOW, like Rudy, Fred or Mitt, HILLARY WINS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jonascord
I cannot detect any smidgen of malice in post 29.

It does, however correct an erroneous statement with short, simple explainations and reference links, which is a good thing.

If left standing, the errors will be cited as fact and that will sooner or later cause big problems.

60 posted on 08/17/2007 12:35:34 PM PDT by skeptoid (AA, UE, MBS (with clusters))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-100 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson