B Why can't light travel faster than c?

[bhobba]

Why can’t something travel faster than itself? It’s a ridiculous question.

You supposedly have a PhD in Chemical Engineering. You should know better. The question is why can't light travel faster than C. C is the invariant speed that comes from the derivation of the Lorentz transformations I gave using group theory. The question is not why light can't travel faster than itself - the question is why can't light travel faster than the invariant speed C, which is by definition the constant velocity the same in all frames that naturally emerges in deriving the Lorentz transformations. It can't travel faster than that invariant speed because as you travel faster and faster you never catch up to it due to its invariance. Another way of looking at it is C, by definition, is the speed of light in a vacuum from a stationary source. Normal velocities go faster if their source goes faster - light does not and that's why light or anything else can't go faster than C. Its a perfectly valid question - but for some reason you chose to think its not valid. With your educational background how you made such as error beats me.

The question to ask is why is that invariant speed the speed of light. Symmetry considerations prove such a speed exists, that it is the speed of light is the follow up question which this thread has tried to answer.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Eric Bretschneider]

Who cares about language any more - is communication becoming a lost art because everyone tries to guess at the meaning and intent of the question?

A detailed answer to a poor question really doesn’t do anything for the person asking the question. Giving the simple answer may force them to think about their question and perhaps ask a much better question.

Consider it a version of the Socratic method of teaching with the difference that instead of asking a question, I was attempting to force someone to think more before asking a question.

To each his own. Sorry, but I have had to teach and train individuals throughout my career and forcing someone to think rather than giving a detailed answer that is well above the apparent technical level of the person who asked the question doesn’t work well.

There are some great technical answers on this thread - I DO NOT QUESTION THAT THEY ARE VALID, but if someone understood those answers they never would have asked the question in the first place.

Lorentz transformations using group theory to answer a very simple question about the speed of light? If you know Lorentz transformations you almost certainly know the speed of light is constant.

 

[Nugatory]

This thread has run its course. It is closed.