Will the speed of light always be a barrier?

Air and Space Magaine. Vol # 1 March 1978 | March 1978 | Editorial Staff w/ Melvin B. Zistein

[vannrox]

Light Speed a Barrier?

To go, the children of tomorrow may have had to discover what is believed impossible today -- how to travel faster than light.

Mel Zisfein, deputy director of the national Air and Space Museum, and an aerosynamicist amoung other things, has noted a similarity between the way most people today regard "C," the speed of light, and the way many people a generation or so ago regarded "a", the speed of sound. For this publication, he sketched the illustrations which appear on the following page, and drafted the following...

"Some people used to look at the so-called compressibility effect curves and said that we'll never fly a winged aircraft faster than the speed of sound. As we increase speed from ero, the forces associated with air pressure, like drag, will rise ever faster and tend toward infinity as we approach the speed of sound, which is a barrier we can't pass.

"However, people knew that artillery shells - although not winged aircraft - went faster than the speed of sound, so perhaps there was a chance for airplanes. Subsequently, on October 14 1947, the Bell X-1 flew supersonically, and today, supersonic flight is an everyday occurrence.

"Earlier, people working with the flow of gases through nozzles had run into a similar manifestation of a 'sound barrier'. When a gas, like air, was put through a simple nozzle

...the speed of sound "a", looked like the highest achievable velocity. The more pressure that was applied across the nozzle, the more energy was dissipated in shocks int eh nozzle, leaving the exit velocity no higher than the speed of sound. However the De Laval nozzle was invented...

in which the exit speed could be supersonic.

"Now, some people look at the equations and curves of einstein's special theory of Relativity like the one form mass 'm' (formula to the right).

They notice the similarity in form to the earlier aerodynamic pressure equation and its curve . Some people say we;ll never move faster than "c:, the speed of light. As we increase speed from zero, the mass of any body will rise ever faster and tend toward infinity, as we approach the speed of light, which is a barrier we can't pass.

'There is much evidence to support this position. From where we stand today (1978), exceeding the speed of light appears to be a vstly more difficult endeavor than exceeding the speed of sound. Maybe however, that it is only because we haven't figured out how to do it.

"The basic physical principles are vastly different. But I remain fascinated with the mathematical similarities between the pressure equation and the curve of the sound barrier, and the mass equation and the curve of the light barrier.I just wonder if there is some wa which we will find some day to enable us to drive particles, and perhaps space vehicles, to speeds faster than "c".

[Dave Olson]

"What is the speed of dark?"

Same as the speed of light but in the opposite direction.

"I put instant coffee into my microwave oven and almost went back in time."

"I was in a cafe that had the sign 'Breakfast served at any time'. So, I ordered French toast during the Renaissance"

- Stephen Wright

[vannrox]

The nearest solar system is the tri-star system of Centarius. There are three stars in this system. Two stars are both human friendly (as far as the habital zone is concerned) being "K" class. The third star is a cool red M star orbiting in a nice wide loop. The distance is not that bad, speaking galatically. A mere 4.3 light years.

[Kirkwood]

Rather than traveling impossible distances within our own universe, we might find it far easier to travel to alternate universes.

[vger]

[vannrox]

You might appreciate this graphic...

[vannrox]

Thank you.

[KevinDavis]

That would be cool too..

[Rockitz]

I committed that one to memory years ago.

[Michael Goldsberry]

That's two of us.

[dirtbiker]

"The Final Countdown" was a song by Europe, as well....

[Nasty McPhilthy]

Tachyons!

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Tachyon.html

[dirtbiker]

I committed that one to memory years ago.

My favorite is
There once was a man from Nantucket....

[dirtbiker]

And I also like the one:
There once was a sailor from Brighton...

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

"There are questions whether "c" is a constant at all"

Doesn't gravity change the speed of light. I thought this was proven, and currently astronomers are using the gravity effect as a magnifier for their telescopes. I might be completely off base - I'm just a curious businessman.


"...more difficult endeavor than exceeding the speed of sound. Maybe however, that it is only because we haven't figured out how to do it."

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke


Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com

[Doctor Stochastic]

Huh? he can't even do anything about 007 misusing his latest gadget.

There's lots of wear and tear in the field, even an electromagnetic field.

[SandyB]

Will the speed of light always be a barrier? ,P> Well, it is not really a barrier if we cant even get close to it.

[WKL815]

The barrier is the biology of our eyes and brains' visual processing centers.
Thankfully, there is no barrier to what we can perceive with our minds' eye.

I've been thinking of this issue for a while. Thanks for posting. That C is a variable works perfectly with my overall philosophy.

[Rockitz]

My favorite is

There once was a man from Nantucket....

I'm ashamed to admit that I remember that one also plus the one that starts

There was a young man named Dave...

which is of the same foul genre.

[AFreeBird]

It may have not been a constant during the early stages of development of the universe, but in the fairly steady state we are in I think it is fairly constant, maybe changing a bit every billion years or so.

Sorry, then its not a constant.

Constant is constant.

[Nasty McPhilthy]

Take the test:

http://www.juliantrubin.com/quiz/einsteinquiz.html