Faster than speed of light possible ?

[bigworld]

good day ,

I am not a professional , but I read that in according to laws of physics it is not possible to go faster than speed of light . but I also read that after the big bang in just seconds the universe expanded from a size of an atom to the size of a galaxy . so obviously it expanded faster than speed of light to reach such expansion rates . how can physics describe this ??

 

[ChrisVer]

in case of the "big bang" the expansion did not involve matter but the spacetime itself...

 

[Wes Tausend]

good day ,

I am not a professional , but I read that in according to laws of physics it is not possible to go faster than speed of light . but I also read that after the big bang in just seconds the universe expanded from a size of an atom to the size of a galaxy . so obviously it expanded faster than speed of light to reach such expansion rates . how can physics describe this ??

I'm also very much an amateur, but I think the most rapid part of the expansion, called Inflation, took place in far less than a few seconds but a trillionth of a trillionth of a second.

The key is that the normal universe maintains the maximum speed of light at c in a vacuum. But if the fabric of space, therefore the "room" in space, inflates, theoretically there may be an appearance of faster-than-light speeds having taken place.

We may find that we have added an epicycle to achieve cover for this phenomena, but I believe it is the best we have now. The theory is far from concrete, I think.

Here's an outside link, and I would encourage you to look for FAQs in the Cosmology section of this site.

Wes
...

 

[bigworld]

Thats interesting .. thanks i will look at the link

 

[bcrowell]

We have a FAQ about this: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=508610

 

[Wes Tausend]

We have a FAQ about this: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=508610

Thanks for the quick link, bcrowell.

I'm starting to learn to wisely look for FAQs here first, but my better half was literally dragging me out the door to a Supper when I answered, so I quick punted. Usually when in Rome, it pays to speak the same language and the FAQs are a real gift to make physics more clear to all concerned. So thanks for providing/contributing the onboard FAQ too.

Wes
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