Explaining Mass of Particles Traveling at Speed of Light

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter vivekhere
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Explain
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the mass of particles traveling at the speed of light, exploring concepts related to massless particles, time travel, and the implications of traveling faster than light. It includes theoretical considerations, conceptual clarifications, and speculative ideas.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that only massless particles, like photons, can travel at the speed of light, while particles with mass cannot reach this speed due to increasing mass requiring more energy for acceleration.
  • One participant mentions a theory suggesting that if matter could travel faster than light, it could be in its future, prompting questions about the nature of time travel.
  • Another participant discusses time dilation effects experienced by objects moving at high speeds, referencing the twin paradox and its implications for aging differently relative to stationary observers.
  • A participant raises a question about how particles on Earth can travel at different speeds, suggesting a need for clarification on the comparison of speeds.
  • There is mention of the Lorentz transformation equations, which imply negative time for speeds greater than light, but one participant notes the lack of physical evidence for this having significance.
  • Entanglement is brought up as a potential explanation for instantaneous effects between particles, although its relevance to the discussion of faster-than-light travel is unclear.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that massless particles can travel at light speed, but there is disagreement and uncertainty regarding the implications of faster-than-light travel and its relationship to time and causality. The discussion remains unresolved on these speculative aspects.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on specific interpretations of theoretical physics, and there are unresolved questions about the implications of faster-than-light travel and time travel theories. The discussion includes various assumptions and lacks consensus on the validity of certain theories mentioned.

vivekhere
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Explain about this please

hi,

Is it so if a particle travels in a speed of light then its mass is considered as Zero?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Depends on what you mean by a particle. Only photons can travel at the speed of light because they have no mass. Any 'particle' than has mass, like electrons, neutrons, protons, etc. can only approach the speed of light, but they can never reach it. Particle accelerators can speed up electrons to something like 99.9999% the speed of light, but no matter how hard they try, it is impossible to reach 100% of the speed of light.

If you want to know why this is mathematically, I'd suggest you type into google, 'Gamma Function'.

Maybe someone who is good at LATEX can show you hear, just ask.
 
Like the bro said, particles with mass (rest mass) cannot accelerate to light speed, because their mass continually increases and so it takes more and more force to accelerate them until finally, at very near lightspeed, the mass of even a single atom would become so great that all the energy in the universe couldn't accelerate it any usefull amount.

Therefore (theoretically, at least), the only particles that can travel at lightspeed are those that have no mass, like photons. So, if we observe a particle traveling at lightspeed, we can know that its mass must be zero.
 
Hi,

I have another doubt.

As u all said only the massless objects can travel in the spped of light then there is one theory which states if a matter travels more than a speed of light can be in its future.


can u tell me how this is satiesfied?
 
I'm sorry can you reword that question, I don't understand it.
 
vivekhere said:
Hi,

a matter travels more than a speed of light can be in its future.


can u tell me how this is satiesfied?


He must be talking about time travel...

Its not exactly time travel, its just that when u travel near the speed of light, ur time slows down relative to those who are not traveling at the speed of light. In fact anything moving at a faster speed than some other thing has time dilation. I have heard of something also like astronaut's watches being different after they come back from space etc. So, its the twin's paradox thing that if u go somewhere with the speed of light and come back, u would have only aged for the period of the journey while 80 odd years might have passed on earth..

This is best if u go google things like relativity or gamma function or lorentz transform or just buy some book like A Brief History of Time or Relativity for the Layman etc etc...

oh yeah, there are some obscure things which are way beyond what i know..
like yesterday I read this thing in New Scientist that what u do now could affect what u did yesterday etc etc...tell me if u want to read the entire article or rather here it is

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19125710.900-whats-done-is-done-or-is-it.html

u need to subscribe but if u don't want to, tell me and i could pm it to u

ok ok , i think i said quite a lot of useless and inaccurate stuff.. lol
 
hi,

ofcourse i understand that. but i want to ask another thing how a particle in Earth can travel in lesser speed than other particle.
 
vivekhere said:
Hi,

I have another doubt.

As u all said only the massless objects can travel in the spped of light then there is one theory which states if a matter travels more than a speed of light can be in its future.


can u tell me how this is satiesfied?
There is no such theory. It is true that the Lorentze transformation equations give a negative time (which might be considered moving back in time) if you put speed v greater than c, but there is no evidence that that has any physical significance.
 
vivekhere said:
hi,

ofcourse i understand that. but i want to ask another thing how a particle in Earth can travel in lesser speed than other particle.
? Stand beside a road and watch one car pass another! Am I misunderstanding your question?
 
  • #10
hi,

but as posted in New Scientist journel how can a incident we performing in present can effect the past?.

can u explain?
 
Last edited:
  • #12
vive

Cut and paste the article so we can understand what you are saying. Your English is tough to get.
 
  • #13
vivekhere said:
Hi,

I have another doubt.

As u all said only the massless objects can travel in the spped of light then there is one theory which states if a matter travels more than a speed of light can be in its future.


can u tell me how this is satiesfied?

Maybe you are talkin bout Entanglement?...where the effects of 1 Partical can Instantanously be felt by up to two more no matter how far apart they are?
 

Similar threads

Undergrad A question about the speed of light and electromagnetism
  • · Replies 51 ·
2
Replies
51
Views
5K
High School A photon always travels in a black hole
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
1K
High School c^2 in Einstein‘s theory of relativity
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
High School Special relativity thought: Traveling to the future relative to a particle
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
3K
High School One-Way Speed of Light
  • · Replies 93 ·
4
Replies
93
Views
6K
High School Traveling through space at zero km/s
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
1K
High School Would We See the Same Light After Traveling Back to Earth Faster Than Light?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Why do we still say “the speed of light” instead of “c”?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
Undergrad Ships passing each other at near light speed
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
724
Undergrad One way speed of light
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
1K