Are there other phenomena (besides light) whose speed is invariant?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the invariance of speed in various phenomena, particularly focusing on gravitational radiation and the behavior of massive particles like neutrinos. It is established that gravitational radiation is expected to travel at the speed of light (c), while neutrinos, now confirmed to have mass, travel slightly slower than c. The conversation also highlights that ultra-relativistic massive particles can appear to travel at a nearly constant speed, independent of the source's motion, due to the principles of special relativity (SR).

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  • Understanding of special relativity (SR)
  • Knowledge of gravitational radiation
  • Familiarity with neutrino properties and behavior
  • Concept of ultra-relativistic particles
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  • Research the properties of gravitational radiation and its implications in physics
  • Study the behavior of neutrinos and their mass implications
  • Explore the principles of special relativity, particularly velocity addition
  • Investigate the characteristics of gluons and their role in particle physics
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Physicists, students of theoretical physics, and anyone interested in the fundamental principles of speed invariance in various physical phenomena.

quantumphilosopher
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Are there any other phenomena (optical or not) whose speed is constant and does not depend on whether the source is moving or not?
 
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quantumphilosopher said:
Are there any other phenomena (optical or not) whose speed is constant and does not depend on whether the source is moving or not?

Since the neutrino has been found to have mass, it is expected to travel (very slightly) slower than the speed of light.

This leaves gravitational radiation as a form of radiation expected to travel at 'c'. The strong force carriers (gluons) may also be a candidate for moving at 'c' - the major problem is they can't really be isolated as I understand it (not very well, unfortunately), which makes it difficult to measure their speed.

Note that ANY massive particle, with a sufficiently high velocity, will appear to travel at a nearly constant speed independent of the motion of the source. This is how the neutrino, for instance, was thought to be massless for a very long time.

While the speed of an ultra-relativistic massive particle won't be exactly constant, it can be easily shown that the motion of the source does not directly add to the speed. For instance, suppose an object moving with a velocity v1 emits a massive particle with a velocity v2, where v2 is very close to 'c'. It's quite easy to make v1+v2>c, and it is equally easy to perform an experiment to show that the massive particle moves with a velocity v<c by emitting a light beam and showing that it beats the massive particle. This is explainable by how velocities add in SR (they don't add).
 
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