The discussion revolves around the concept of whether pulling on a string connected between two stars could result in communication that is faster than the speed of light. The scope includes theoretical implications of such a scenario and the physical properties of materials involved.
Participants express disagreement regarding the nature of the communication speed, with some asserting it could be instantaneous while others clarify that it would not exceed the speed of sound in the string.
The discussion does not resolve the assumptions regarding the properties of the string or the implications of the scenario, leaving open questions about the nature of communication through physical materials.
This discussion may be of interest to those exploring concepts of communication speeds in physics, the properties of materials, and theoretical scenarios involving relativistic constraints.
No, not immediately and not even at speed of light. It occurs at the speed of sound. You will find probably dozens of threads on PF here, which deal with this idea.Ozs said:If you were to connect a string from one star to another (assuming everything remains still), and then you were to pull one side of the string towards you, the other would be pulled immediately, thus the "communication" between the two edges is technically faster than the speed of light? Does this make sense?
Ozs said:If you were to connect a string from one star to another (assuming everything remains still), and then you were to pull one side of the string towards you, the other would be pulled immediately, thus the "communication" between the two edges is technically faster than the speed of light? Does this make sense?