jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre) (04/10/84)
I have heard it said, and the math would seem to agree, that it is only
impossible to approach the speed of light, not to exceed it. As
something approaches the speed of light it undergoes time/mass
dilation. To reach the speed of light would require infinite energy
for any non-zero mass.
But! If you plug in the value of 2c you get the same mass/energy
values as 1/2c. This leads to the speculation concerning tachions, or
particles which have a lower limit of the speed of light. It has yet
to be determined whether the other half of the formula represents
reality or not. As I understand it particles traveling faster than
light could not interact with normal matter so nobody has come up with
a test. I'm not saying that this is the key to "warp" drive, just that
there are openings in the math.
On the subject of fiction why is magic OK but ftl unacceptable? Much
magic seems to violate the principles of mass/energy conservation.
Mass/energy conservation is considered much more basic than the speed
of light limitation. If an alternate universe allows one, then why not
the other?
Jerry Aguirre
{hplabs|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerry