Is light actually faster than light?

In summary, the article states that researchers from EPFL claim to have made light travel faster than normal using fiber optics. They were also able to create extreme conditions in which the light signal traveled faster than 300 million meters a second. And even though this seems to violate all sorts of cherished physical assumptions, Einstein needn't move over – relativity isn't called into question, because only a portion of the signal is affected.
  • #1
Idjot
77
0
I just read an article that was released 2 years ago about something that some of you may have heard about and maybe even posted threads about at some point but I have to throw this out there because I really want to learn more about it.

Researchers from EPFL claim to have made light travel faster than normal using fiber optics.

Here's a quote:

"They were also able to create extreme conditions in which the light signal traveled faster than 300 million meters a second. And even though this seems to violate all sorts of cherished physical assumptions, Einstein needn't move over – relativity isn't called into question, because only a portion of the signal is affected."

When I read the above all I could say was "What the...? Assumptions? A portion at c+ is OK?"

I expect many to have a similar reaction to mine but someone out there just might be able to explain it. Please do.

In the meantime here's the article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/epfd-ltt081905.php

I'm going to hunt for more info on this.
 
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  • #2
Here's a couple of quotes from an article about a different experiment and this one is amazing:

"In the most striking of the new experiments a pulse of light that enters a transparent chamber filled with specially prepared cesium gas is pushed to speeds of 300 times the normal speed of light. That is so fast that, under these peculiar circumstances, the main part of the pulse exits the far side of the chamber even before it enters at the near side."

"Someone who looked only at the beginning and end of the experiment would see only a pulse of light that somehow jumped forward in time by moving faster than c."

And here's the article:

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/science/053000sci-physics-light.html

I sincerely hope by starting this thread that I'm not just rehashing a bunch of old stuff that everyone else here has already beat to death. If that's the case I apologize. It's just that I had never heard of these experiments and I'm also new to this forum.
 
  • #3
Yep, it's rehash.

Lets say trains (light) travel at a constant speed c, and I have a train (light pulse) which initially contains lots of passengers (photons) seated in the middle carriages and only a few passengers seated in the front or back carriages.

Each time my train passes through a station, the following happens: The first time the station master happens to notice a passenger in a moving carriage, he tosses a few extra people in through that door ("gain"), but then the station master's arms get tired, and from then on he grumpily orders that every subsequent passenger he sees must immediately disembark ("attenuation").

After passing through many stations, this means there will be lots of passengers in the front carriages, and very few back in the rest of the train. If the train was very long (and many stations are very close together), you would find that *most* of the passengers disembarking at the final station actually do so earlier in time than when *most* of the passengers boarding at the first station board. To put a spin on this, you might say this rail system transports seated passengers faster than the speed of train carriages.
 
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  • #4
Thanks for the explanation.
 

What is the concept of "light faster than light"?

The concept of "light faster than light" refers to the idea of something moving faster than the speed of light, which is believed to be the maximum attainable speed in the universe according to Einstein's theory of relativity.

Is it possible for something to travel faster than the speed of light?

No, according to current scientific understanding, it is not possible for anything to travel faster than the speed of light. The speed of light is considered to be a fundamental constant and any object attempting to exceed this speed would require an infinite amount of energy.

What happens to an object if it were to travel faster than the speed of light?

It is not possible to determine what would happen if an object were to travel faster than the speed of light as it is not currently a feasible scenario. However, according to Einstein's theory of relativity, an object traveling at the speed of light would experience time dilation and appear to slow down from an outside observer's perspective.

What are some proposed theories that could allow for something to travel faster than light?

There are several theories that have been proposed, such as wormholes, warp drives, and tachyons, that could potentially allow for something to travel faster than the speed of light. However, these theories are still speculative and have not been proven to be possible.

How does the concept of "light faster than light" impact our understanding of the universe?

The concept of "light faster than light" challenges our current understanding of the laws of physics and the limitations of the universe. It also raises important questions about the nature of space, time, and the possibility of faster-than-light travel. Further research and experimentation in this area could potentially lead to a better understanding of the universe and the laws that govern it.

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