Can Tachyons Travel Faster Than the Speed of Light and Alter the Future?

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SUMMARY

Tachyons are theoretical particles posited to travel faster than the speed of light, but they have not been empirically demonstrated. The discussion highlights the paradox of time travel associated with tachyons, suggesting that if they existed, one could potentially communicate with the past, leading to significant temporal paradoxes. A previous neutrino experiment mistakenly suggested the observation of tachyons due to a loose cable, but this was later debunked. Thus, the concept remains purely theoretical without empirical evidence.

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  • Basic knowledge of particle physics
  • Awareness of temporal paradoxes in science fiction
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  • Research the implications of faster-than-light travel in theoretical physics
  • Explore the theory of relativity and its impact on time travel
  • Investigate the results of neutrino experiments and their significance
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PhysicsFan11
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I had read about tachycons being faster than the speed of light and which are theoretical in that I think they have not been demonstrated empirically.
Ok and also if they were real it brings up the paradox of essentially these particles traveling backwards in time. Such that and it sounds science fiction -esque, but some one (or yourself) could use a Tachyon phone and call you from the future...but alas, if you then knew about the future, you change it and such the paradox would exist.
 
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Do you have a question? And are you sure that you want an answer using doctoral-level math?
 
Good point- this really is a more general question and I should have posed it to any and all. So the question would be if the concept of Tachyons has actually manifested in the realm of empiric data?
 
PhysicsFan11 said:
Good point- this really is a more general question and I should have posed it to any and all.
OK, I have updated the category.
PhysicsFan11 said:
So the question would be if the concept of Tachyons has actually manifested in the realm of empiric data?
No. A couple of years ago there was a loose cable in a neutrino experiment that made it look like they were observing tachyons.
 

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