What exactly is light? And why is "the speed of light" considered to be fastest anything can move?

[BigToque]

Whether or not light is a wave or a particle, what makes it any more special then any other type of wave or particle? Why is the speed that light moves at considered to be the ultimate limit of speed?

It just seems sort of strange to me that in a universe that appears to be infinite in space and time that objects/matter/anything would be restricted to a range of speeds (0 - C).

 

[FoBoT]

light is photons

 

[Saint Nick]

Like FoBoT said:

Light is made of photons

 

[dug777]

Duh, you hit the nail on the head. It's the duality of it, the whole wave/particle thing, that makes it so special...

IIRC the universe isn't infinite, either

 

[dug777]

And essentially nothing can move faster than the speed of light...because

 

[Descartes]

Because photons have a zero rest mass and thus aren't encumbered by Einstein's E=mc^2. Anything with a rest mass would require too much energy to accelerate it to 'c'.

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: dug777
Duh, you hit the nail on the head. It's the duality of it, the whole wave/particle thing, that makes it so special...

IIRC the universe isn't infinite, either

Well, I thought that all electrons had the wave/patricle duality

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Because photons have a zero rest mass and thus aren't encumbered by Einstein's E=mc^2. Anything with a rest mass would require too much energy to accelerate it to 'c'.

if too much=it's not possible

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Because photons have a zero rest mass and thus aren't encumbered by Einstein's E=mc^2. Anything with a rest mass would require too much energy to accelerate it to 'c'.

because anything with a rest mass, as it approaches the speed of light increase to infinite mass.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: dug777
Duh, you hit the nail on the head. It's the duality of it, the whole wave/particle thing, that makes it so special...

IIRC the universe isn't infinite, either

Well, I thought that all electrons had the wave/patricle duality

electrons!=photons...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: Descartes
Because photons have a zero rest mass and thus aren't encumbered by Einstein's E=mc^2. Anything with a rest mass would require too much energy to accelerate it to 'c'.

because anything with a rest mass, as it approaches the speed of light increase to infinite mass.

I don't see how E=mc^2 would create an infinite number. We know mass and we know the speed of light. We always know two of the variables and we come up with a real number.

 

[letdown427]

As your speed increases, your mass increases. That's how E=mc^2 creates an infinite number. I forget why your mass increases like that, it's been a while since i've read any relativity, but that's why you get an infinite number.

 

[FoBoT]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=theory+relativity+for+dummies&spell=1

 

[Feldenak]

This thread makes my head hurt.

 

[BigToque]

I'm not going to say Einstein is wrong, because Einstein > me, but it just seems very strange to me that with everything in this universe, there is this little road sign saying "Speed limit: C".

It just seems out of line with everything I understand. It feels like that would be an arbitrary limit picked for the hell of it.

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: dug777
Duh, you hit the nail on the head. It's the duality of it, the whole wave/particle thing, that makes it so special...

IIRC the universe isn't infinite, either

Well, I thought that all electrons had the wave/patricle duality

electrons!=photons...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

Err actually all matter in the universe has a wave/particle duality. Every atom, every subatomic particle with mass is both a wave and matter at the same time. In fact, that's what E = mc^2 implies. Matter and energy are the same thing and interchangeable. With most matter, the energy/wave portion is so small that it's irrelevant to any calculations. With photons, the wave and matter portion are both easily measurable and significant, thus leading to contradictory tests and many a scratched head over the decades. Not a purely scientific answer but that's the basic rub.

 

[SokaMoka]

So while we have some members with some Physics insight here (it's been a long time for me , theoretically speaking , if something whatever it is, was to exceed the speed of light what would happen ??

 

[Safeway]

The speed of light is actually ... infinite.

If a stationary body shoots a laser beam, the light will be traveling at C. If a moving body traveling at C/2 is traveling in the same direction as the laser, the light will also appear to be traveling at C. If you are able to travel at 1000C or 1000000000C, it will still appear to be traveling at C from the same, stationary source.

I have read this in many astrophysics books, so don't disqualify it.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Connoisseur

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: dug777
Duh, you hit the nail on the head. It's the duality of it, the whole wave/particle thing, that makes it so special...

IIRC the universe isn't infinite, either

Well, I thought that all electrons had the wave/patricle duality

electrons!=photons...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

Err actually all matter in the universe has a wave/particle duality. Every atom, every subatomic particle with mass is both a wave and matter at the same time. In fact, that's what E = mc^2 implies. Matter and energy are the same thing and interchangeable. With most matter, the energy/wave portion is so small that it's irrelevant to any calculations. With photons, the wave and matter portion are both easily measurable and significant, thus leading to contradictory tests and many a scratched head over the decades. Not a purely scientific answer but that's the basic rub.

o rly? Live and learn i guess

did i mention that i can't stand people who preface a correction with 'err' or 'errm' Just spit it out...

 

[sao123]

I recommend you all read Brian Greens 2 books on this subject and more. He answers all of your questions in a laymans manner for all to understand.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (Paperback)
The Fabric of the Cosmos : Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (Vintage) (Paperback)

 

[Pantoot]

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
So while we have some members with some Physics insight here (it's been a long time for me , theoretically speaking , if something whatever it is, was to exceed the speed of light what would happen ??

Electrons that go faster than light can go give off a pretty blue glow.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: sao123
I recommend you all read Brian Greens 2 books on this subject and more. He answers all of your questions in a laymans manner for all to understand.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory (Paperback)
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375727205/sr=8-1/qid=1142872381/r
<b">f=pd_bbs_1/102-6917436-0408949?%5Fencoding=UTF8">The Fabric of the Cosmos : Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (Vintage) (Paperback)</a>

Even for us business folks?

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: Descartes
Because photons have a zero rest mass and thus aren't encumbered by Einstein's E=mc^2. Anything with a rest mass would require too much energy to accelerate it to 'c'.

because anything with a rest mass, as it approaches the speed of light increase to infinite mass.

I don't see how E=mc^2 would create an infinite number. We know mass and we know the speed of light. We always know two of the variables and we come up with a real number.

As rest mass approaches speed of light, it become infinitely massive. It isn't the same equation as E=mc^2, and that equation is a basic premise, not the end all of quantum mechanics.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: BigToque
I'm not going to say Einstein is wrong, because Einstein > me, but it just seems very strange to me that with everything in this universe, there is this little road sign saying "Speed limit: C".

It just seems out of line with everything I understand. It feels like that would be an arbitrary limit picked for the hell of it.

There is a premise that anything past that reaches another "brane" in which we cannot observe and detect, so it is inconsequential, just like we cannot never know what was before the singularity -- we can only ascertain with theories and proofs.

 

[Cattlegod]

Don't forget that as you reach the speed of light, the dimension you exist in shrinks. meaning that if you are 12 inches thick from front to back, then you would be 0 inches thick from front to back at the speed of light.