Is it possible to break the speed of light?
347791
Your example is actually a good one for how we know no one can travel faster than the speed of light.  The people on the boat would measure the same speed for the beam of light as those standing on the shore.\n\nEinstein's theory of special relativity states that, regardless of your motion, light's speed remains constant.  Space and time warp in order to make light's speed constant from all perspectives.  As matter gets closer and closer to the speed of light, space stretches and time contracts, requiring infinite energy to reach the speed of light.  Only things with no mass (i. e. energy only) can travel at the speed of light, and nothing we know of can go faster.\n\nHowever, Einstein's theories do suggest that we could bend space and time to allow us to get around the speed of light.  We can't travel a trillion miles per second, but, with enough energy, we could shift some spot a trillion miles away to right next to us.
1113063
No. It's the gravity they can't escape. (Light is ultimately made up of particles.) Speed is not an issue.
214684
No massive object can move at the speed of light, so the question is ill-posed. Sorry.\n\nAs a physicist, please let me give you a little advice: don't loose your time with this nonsense, try instead to focus on the mathematics of the relativity theory, that's the way to understand it. The rest is pseudo-science.
41924
It is definitely possible. However, we do not have the technology needed to reach the kind of speeds necessary to allow for travel to other solar systems, stars, etc. Here's something to consider, though. Einsteins Laws of Relativity, while not allowing travel at full light speed, do allow travel almost up to (and just short of) light speed. As you go closer to light speed, the traveler's clock would "slow down" as compared to an observer's clock on a "stationary" object. If you got close enough to light speed, you could travel across the galaxy (100,000 light years wide) in what might seem minutes or hours to you, and about 100,000 years to me. Great, great stuff. To learn more about this concept, google "twins paradox". Or go to http://media.nasaexplores.com/lessons/02-060/9-12_2.pdf and scroll down to page three. This will explain it more fully to you.
409498
By traveling faster than the speed of light.  As velocity approaches the speed of light, time slows down.  Traveling faster than light speed then - would make you travel back in time.  Theoretically, it is possible (according to the theory of relativity) but scientifically, it doesn't seem possible.
334240
Well, completely aside from size, light-speed travel is currently impossible by our technology. When and if that technology is ever invented, I would say 'yes', because there is no such thing as wind resistance in space ^_^
8700
no. well, its absolutely impossible to travel at the speed of light, but lets pretend you can so i can actually give you an answer to the question. The speed of light is actually the ultimate speed limit to the universe, nothing can travel faster than light, so although you would expect the light to be going at twice the speed of light (you plus the speed of light)it can't because it is physically impossible for even light to travel faster than the speed of light so it would be going at the same speed of you and not reach any path in front of you.  Of course, if you turned on your headlights before you started moving, the light would always be one step ahead of you.\n\nbut again, this situation couldn't happen anyway since you can't get to the speed of light, and if you want to know why, look at some of my answers to other questions about time travel (which involves velocity distorting time) and shining flashlights and such.
988641
Awesome question.  I have no idea.  The first thing you would have to know is what the properites of glass are that could, if at all, slow the speed of light.  As well as at what thickness of glass, which, in a backwards loop hole sortof way, directly relates to my last sentance.  (if a piece of glass were doubly thick as a single piece of glass, would it cut the speed of light in half?--depends on how thick the original piece was and if the original piece did anything to slow light's speed at all--see where i'm goin?).  Please tell me what you find, I'm very curious, I love questions that make me think deep.  Peace out dude, rioedgebravo@yahoo.com
560353
Not we as humans, but scientists are working on the technology to send atoms back in time.  The logic to behind this makes no sense.  Here's part of an article I read once on the website Space.com:\n\nTaught in physics classes the world over, Albert Einsteins theory of special relativity holds that no object or information can move faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, or 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second. But NECs Lijun Wang says he created an experiment in which a light beam raced through a gas-filled chamber so quickly, it exceeded the speed of light by a factor of 300. Whats more, the light pulse appears to have left the confines of the chamber before it even entered a seemingly impossible occurrence according to theories of causality, which predict that causes must always precede their effects.\n\nSo, this possibly hints that the light is going back in time, but if this is what it means it violates laws of causality and sends quantum physics into disrepair.  \n\nTraveling to the past is impossible given our current views of the universe and physics.  However, if the universe isn't a universe, but rather a multiverse of infinite parallel universes we could jump to another universe that exists simulatneously at an earlier time.  This would not violate causality or the grandfather paradox (which is that if you could go back in time you could kill your grandfather  which would mean you would never be born to kill your grandfather).  YOu could kill your grandfather in another universe and you would never exist in that universe, but you would still exist because in your universe your grandfather had never died.
75582
Tehnically, yes. Scientists succeeded in sending light through a light accelerator. Light beams are already going the speed of light so any acceleration would cause them to jump past the speed of light. The resuly was that the light actually came out the other end before it went in. This was actually measured. I heard this on NPR radio a couple of years ago.
671137
Actually....according to Einstein...if you could survive traveling at that speed the answer would be yes. Einsteins theory states the light from your headlights would be traveling at the speed of light! Let me make this simple...if the auto you were driving was travelling at the speed of light the light from the headlights at any given point in your travel would still be traveling forward again at the speed of light. His theory also states that at the speed of light the only variable that changes is time. Personally, I dont believe in the theory, in particle physics it has been proven that paired particles "know" when their particle twin has had a change of state regardless of how far away from each other they are...this being said...some form of communication between the two must travel faster than the speed of light!
532772
nothing but light can travel at light speed.  the faster you go, the more energy it requires to accelerate.  at speeds that are close to the speed of light, you would need what is basically an infinite amount of power to accelate.  with current technology, it is impossible.  the only reason light can travel that fast, is because when it is created it is already traveling that fast.  it doesnt have to accelerate.
436694
Technically no.  As you get closer and closer to the speed of light the weight of objects grows and grows so that eventually it will stop accelerating.\n\nOne thing that is possible is subspace, freespace, or wormhole travel, all of which are the same thing.  This is where space bends so that the distance is made shorter.  An example of this is traveling to the other side of the world.  You can go around the world, or you can go straight through the center (this is impossible), which distance is shorter.  To achieve subspace travel you must open up a big enough portal of quantum foam, or the space between the nucleus of an atom and its electrons.  We can not currently do this because we do not have the ability to make cold fusion which is the only 'safe' way to supply enough power.  Navigation, however, is a completely other story.\n\nhope this helps answer your question.
644825
According to Special Relativity Theory, when you are transporting a mass at a speed near lightspeed, the energy needed to increase your speed rises to infinity. We can't provide the system with enough energy to reach the light of speed.\n\nEnergy, though, can travel at the speed of light because it has no mass. If we could transform a mass in energy (remember: E = m c^2) and re-create it at destination, travelling at lightspeed would be possible.\n\nBut, as Dark Helmet said, speed of light is too slow. We need ludicrous speed!
72735
No it is not possible to travel faster than light because the equipment you try to use will not work. The fastest thing to probably work may be a fast car. But there is still no way to travel fater than the speed of light. Speed of light travels at about 7 miles per second. I hope this helps.
204272
Light travels faster than sound.
1063094
Being accelerated past the speed of light is impossible because of the nature of momentum.  It is not simply mass times velocity, but mass times velocity times gamma.  Gamma is a factor which adjusts for the fact that as an object's velocity increases, it has more kinetic energy, which, because E=mc^2, is mass.  Gamma is equal to 1/(1-v^2/c^2), where v = velocity and c is speed of light. As the velocity approaches C, v^2/c^2 becomes 1, and Gamma becomes 1/(1-1), or 1/0.  This means a massive particle traveling at the speed of light has infinite momentum.  It takes infinite force to accelerate to infinite momentum, so breaking the speed of light (for a macroscopic object with mass) is, according to current theory and law, impossible.\n\nHowever, other avenues for an artificial increase of speed are possible.  You mention a lot of them, and not much is really known about them, but it could be possible to warp space-time to let us effectively travel faster than light (like the warp drive in Star Trek).