Can we travel at the speed of light?

[flyingdutchman]

I was talking with my friend the other day about how the speed was sound was broken by the Thrust SCC supercar in 1997 and so I have a question, if there was a rocket that could go as fast as the speed of light, will man be able to make a journey out of our solar system and back? Or would he die through aging?

[king_george]

No according to relativity nothing (except light) can travel at the speed of light.

This explains it better than I can

http://www.physorg.com/news12084.html

[Kasakato]

Did you just ask that?

[marcroboy]

yea if you are jesus

[Kasakato]

And FWIW, the car your referring to broke the sound barrier.

[board123]

No according to relativity nothing (except light) can travel at the speed of light.

This explains it better than I can

http://www.physorg.com/news12084.html

This explains nothing. This thread is not about exceeding the speed of light; it's about traveling at the speed of light.

Anything can travel at the speed of light. Radio waves travel at the speed of light. The space-time warping effect of gravity travels at the speed of light.

The speed light is not only the speed for light, it's the speed of all electromagnetic radiation. Also, the limit is not set by electromagnetic radiation. It's the other way around -- 2.9979 x 10^8 m/s is simply the fastest speed anything can travel at in a vacuum, and it just so happens that electromagnetic radiation reaches that limit. If you look up the derivation for the speed of light, you will see that it has nothing to do with light.

PS: Here's a link of how c was derived.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/...Speed-of-Light

You see that c came from two fundamental constants in classical physics - permeability constant and permittivity constant.

[mingyang]

This explains nothing. This thread is not about exceeding the speed of light; it's about traveling at the speed of light.

Anything can travel at the speed of light. Radio waves travel at the speed of light. The space-time warping effect of gravity travels at the speed of light.

The speed light is not only the speed for light, it's the speed of all electromagnetic radiation. Also, the limit is not set by electromagnetic radiation. It's the other way around -- 2.9979 x 10^8 m/s is simply the fastest speed anything can travel at in a vacuum, and it just so happens that electromagnetic radiation reaches that limit. If you look up the derivation for the speed of light, you will see that it has nothing to do with light.

PS: Here's a link of how c was derived.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/...Speed-of-Light

You see that c came from two fundamental constants in classical physics - permeability constant and permittivity constant.

Good Game

[freddy65]

The answer is No.

[Ziggy007]

I am no scientist but I believe to reach that speed you need a near infinite amount of energy, and since we are still burning coal plans I think we are a far way away

[gilboman]

I am no scientist but I believe to reach that speed you need a near infinite amount of energy, and since we are still burning coal plans I think we are a far way away

what if we find some super coal?

[najibs]

FYI, There's a HUGE difference between 750mph vs 600 million mph. Not only that, the next galaxy is some thousand light years from here, which means you'd have to sit in your space ship for a few thousand years while traveling at the speed of light, before making it there. Have fun.

[king_george]

This explains nothing. This thread is not about exceeding the speed of light; it's about traveling at the speed of light.

Anything can travel at the speed of light. Radio waves travel at the speed of light. The space-time warping effect of gravity travels at the speed of light.

The speed light is not only the speed for light, it's the speed of all electromagnetic radiation. Also, the limit is not set by electromagnetic radiation. It's the other way around -- 2.9979 x 10^8 m/s is simply the fastest speed anything can travel at in a vacuum, and it just so happens that electromagnetic radiation reaches that limit. If you look up the derivation for the speed of light, you will see that it has nothing to do with light.

PS: Here's a link of how c was derived.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/...Speed-of-Light

You see that c came from two fundamental constants in classical physics - permeability constant and permittivity constant.

Very true and informative but let me qualify. Nothing with mass can travel at the speed of light. Everything that can travel at the speed of light is virtually massless. IIRC as speed builds up so does mass so we might travel really really close to the speed of light but never neet nor exceed it without the volume of mass becoming infinite.

Until someone invents a warp drive or something then we are stuck here in our one little backwater solar system.

But not to derail too much, nobody in our lifetime will ever have to worry about what the OP mentions.

[aquariaguy]

maybe if you strap yourself to a nuclear bomb

[TapemanPL]

maybe if you strap yourself to a nuclear bomb

i don't think you understand the speed of light

[Setz]

IIRC, as you approach the speed of light, your mass approaches infinity. Kind of says something when electrons travel at the speed of light, yet are (virtually) massless.