Faster Than The Speed Of Light
Posted: Sunday, January 31, 2010
by Jack H. Schick
One thing that has always bothered me is knowing that Man will never be able to travel to the stars. The distances are too great. The maximum speed limit in the Universe is the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second. The current laws of physics do not permit us to travel faster. It sounds like an incredable velocity, but at that speed it would still take us several years to get to the nearest star. Mankind will be isolated to his own solar system even if technological developments allow us to approach light speed, which, at this time it does not. Recently, however, some experiments have been conducted that gives me hope that perhaps, someday the Universe will truely be ours.
Star Trek fans and UFO enthusiasts must remain dissappointed. According to current physical theory there is no Warp Factor that will permit us to visit other stars in the blink of an eye. Einstein's famous fomula (E=mc2), indicates that as energy (velocity), increases, relative mass (weight), increases. Consequently, the energy needed to accelerate any bit of mass, say the Starship Enterprise, increases because it seems to be getting heavier. As velocity approaches the speed of light, mass increases to infinite. The energy needed to accelerate the mass increases to infinite as well. Hence, it is impossible to travel even at the speed of light.
However, a new reality is emerging in physics that causes a problem with that "fact": Complimentarity. The natural state of the Universe as described by quantum physics is neutrality. Things tend to remain, or strive to be in a state of equilibrium. A familiar example is the atom. Protons have a positive charge. Electrons have a negative charge. In atoms the number of electrons and protons are usually equal. The atom has a neutral charge. Opposites (+/-), attract and neutralize each other. The electrons and protons compliment each other and equilibrium is achieved. The equilibrium can be disrupted by the input or removal of energy, but the atom will return to its 'ground state' under normal conditions.
Complimentarity extends to the sub-atomic world. An electron (-), and a positron (+), attract and annihilate each other in a burst of energy that produces a complimentary pair of photons. One photon has positive orientation, the other, negative. Together their orientation is neutral. They compliment each other. An experiment was devised where these two photons (gamma rays), were separated from each other and sent off in opposite directions to sensors. As expected, if one was measured positive, the other, in all cases, without fail, was negative. Neutrality was maintained.
Alain Aspect and his colleagues conducted a different experiment. While the two complimentary photons were traveling in opposite directions at the speed of light they measured them, changed their orientation and measured them again. In all cases, when a positive orientation was measured then changed to a negative orientation the other photon changed too, instantly. Equilibrium was retained. But how? The two photons were separating from each other at the speed of light. There should be no contact between them. As we understand, there can be no communication faster than the speed of light, the Universes' absolute maximum speed limit. But there was communication. In every case, the photons changed orientation to maintain neutrality.
The implications of this "fact" were so stunning that the experiment was done, with variations, over and over by many other scientists. The results were always the same. If there is a change to one of a complimentary pair, the other one changes to maintain neutrality instantly, regardless of how far they are separated. There apparently is a communication in the Universe that is faster than light speed. The laws of physics apparently do permit information to be transfered instantly from one end of the cosmos to the other.
This non-local aspect of the Universe is not understood. The 'how' and 'why' are inexplicable to physicists. What it means to Mankind can only be speculated about. As time goes on and the phenomenom is studied further, perhaps we will gain understanding. For now it can only be called "spooky science". It does assuage my concern some what. Maybe we will be able to travel to the stars. Maybe sometime in the future a starship called Enterprise will boldy go where no man has gone before. It is aparently not against the laws of physics anymore to travel faster than the speed of light.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Sounds like you are talking about entanglement theory, a fascinating subject with many potential applications, everything from mystical "astral projection" to the possibility of moving an entire space ship instantaneously to somewhere else, anywhere else. Probably not in my lifetime, Jack, but hopefully some day. Who knows? Maybe you and I use it and we are not even aware of it. "Thinking is the best way to travel."
Keep 'em coming.True- Thanks for reading
What a fun article for all of us Heinlein, Clarke and Trek fans! Thanks! MarijoGreg is right. It's the entanglement theory. yeah, I have a large science fiction section in my library.
I learned something very interesting and in a very easy-to-read fashion. Thank you!Thanks for reading and commenting
This didn't interest me and seemed simply like a science lesson to me.Thanks for being anonymous.
Complementarity is hardly a "new" concept in physics (having been formulated for over half a century), but it still has differing interpretations. For an alternative explanation of how faster-than-light travel could be possible, check out The Final Theory by by Mark McCutcheon (you can find it with a web search).P.S. I suggest double-checking the spelling of "complementarity".
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