Can Matter Waves Travel Faster Than Light?

Akshay_Anti
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
Faster than speed of light??

Throughout my schooling ( middle school and beyond, to be precise) I've learned and believed that nothing travels faster than speed of light... But my university textbook of physics says that matter waves can travel faster than speed of light... Isn't this kind of a contradiction? And how is it possible? I am really confused now... Help needed...

Thanx in advance...
 
Physics news on Phys.org


Akshay_Anti said:
Throughout my schooling ( middle school and beyond, to be precise) I've learned and believed that nothing travels faster than speed of light... But my university textbook of physics says that matter waves can travel faster than speed of light... Isn't this kind of a contradiction? And how is it possible? I am really confused now... Help needed...

Thanx in advance...

Can you please cite the exact reference to your textbook (author, publisher, date of publication), and then cite the exact passage in your text that says this (including page number).

Zz.
 


The point of confusion must be the phase velocity vs the group velocity of the wave.
The group velocity is the one that "mediates the energy" of the wave from one spacetime point to the other , and its formula is ug=dω/dk. This velocity can never exceed the speed of light.
On the other hand , the phase velocity describes the "speed" with which the disturbance moves. (Disturbance=wave pattern). This has no physical meaning actually, since the disturbance is a mathematical entity,used to help us out.
 

Thread 'A sufficient condition for integrability of equation ##\nabla g=0##'

In Philippe G. Ciarlet's book 'An introduction to differential geometry', He gives the integrability conditions of the differential equations like this: $$ \partial_{i} F_{lj}=L^p_{ij} F_{lp},\,\,\,F_{ij}(x_0)=F^0_{ij}. $$ The integrability conditions for the existence of a global solution ##F_{lj}## is: $$ R^i_{jkl}\equiv\partial_k L^i_{jl}-\partial_l L^i_{jk}+L^h_{jl} L^i_{hk}-L^h_{jk} L^i_{hl}=0 $$ Then from the equation: $$\nabla_b e_a= \Gamma^c_{ab} e_c$$ Using cartesian basis ## e_I...
View full post »
Thread 'Can this experiment break Lorentz symmetry?'

Thread 'Can this experiment break Lorentz symmetry?'

1. The Big Idea: According to Einstein’s relativity, all motion is relative. You can’t tell if you’re moving at a constant velocity without looking outside. But what if there is a universal “rest frame” (like the old idea of the “ether”)? This experiment tries to find out by looking for tiny, directional differences in how objects move inside a sealed box. 2. How It Works: The Two-Stage Process Imagine a perfectly isolated spacecraft (our lab) moving through space at some unknown speed V...
View full post »

Thread 'Relativator (Circular Slide-Rule): Simulated with Desmos - Insight'

Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. The Relativator was sold by (as printed) Atomic Laboratories, Inc. 3086 Claremont Ave, Berkeley 5, California , which seems to be a division of Cenco Instruments (Central Scientific Company)... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/relativator-circular-slide-rule-simulated-with-desmos/ by @robphy
View full post »

Similar threads

B Can Curved Spacetime Enable Faster-Than-Light Travel?
Replies
12
Views
3K
B Let me ask a thing about the Speed of Light
Replies
6
Views
1K
B Time Travel: Can Humans Go Faster Than Ordinary Speed?
Replies
9
Views
2K
I Can Propeller Speeds and Wave Breaks Challenge the Speed of Light?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Is there really nothing faster than light?
Replies
40
Views
4K
I Why Can't Objects Travel Faster Than Light?
Replies
18
Views
2K
I Light clock running faster than light?
Replies
4
Views
1K
I Time & Gravity in Rotating Faster Than Light?
Replies
8
Views
2K
B Why is it impossible to go faster than the speed of light?
Replies
21
Views
3K
B Faster than speed of light due to time dilation?
Replies
27
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top