Is the speed of sound faster than the speed of light?
492088
The speed of sound isn't even close to the speed of light. The speed of sound in air is usually given as 343 meters per second at sea level in air and the speed of light is approximately 3 X 10^8 meters per second (300,000,000 m/s)in a vaccuum.
6671
The exact speed of light is 299,792,458 m/s\n\nTo be precise, what we usually call the "speed of light" is really the speed of light in a vacuum (the absence of matter). In reality, the speed of light depends on the material that light moves through. Thus, for example, light moves slower in glass than in air, and in both cases the speed is less than in a vacuum. However, the density of matter between the stars is sufficiently low that the actual speed of light through most of interstellar space is essentially the speed it would have through a vacuum, so we don't make much error by ignoring the difference.\n\nTo make it easier for you to convert, here is the speed in alternative units :\n\n(1) 983,571,056.4304461 foot/second\n(2) 11,802,852,677.165352 inch/second\n(3) 1,079,252,848.8 kilometer/hour\n(4) 299,792.458 kilometer/second\n(5) 582,749,918.3585312 knot\n(6) 880,991.0899527 mach\n(7) 670,616,629.3843952 mile/hour (mph)
54308
As you travel faster and faster, time for you slows down, and length contracts. From your point of view, when you measure the speed of light, it will always be the same. An observer standing still with respect to you and the beam of light could measure your speed at 185000 mps and the speed of light as 186000 mps, and say the difference in speed is 1000 mps. But that is relative to them. The speed of light will always be the same for whoever measures it, no matter how fast they are moving.\n\nSee the website below for more about relativity.
64217
to answer your question it is possible to go faster the the speed of light. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.\n\nIf zooming beyond the local speed limit is punishable by law, then some scientists may have a gargantuan speeding ticket to pay. \n\nIn a controversial experiment reported in this weeks journal Nature, scientists at the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey claim to have broken the ultimate speed limit -- the speed of light. Though hotly contested, some say this achievement could dramatically increase the speeds at which we can send and receive information. \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\n"It sounds crazy, but this can actually occur," said Raymond Chiao, a physicist at the University of California at Berkeley. Chiao, one of a group of researchers who have been working to break the speed-of-light limit, explained that although a common object such as a baseball could never be flung faster than the speed of light, pulses of energy with certain complex properties have been known to bend the rules. \n\n\n\n"It sounds crazy, but it actually can occur." \n\n\n\n\nIn fact, several recent experiments, including one done by Chiao earlier this year, have pointed to energy pulses zooming faster than light speed. Yet each of these experiments has been encumbered by severe limitations on measurement or observation of the energy pulses. In contrast, this latest experiment is being touted by some as the most dramatic example yet of light breaking its own speed barrier. \n\n"The effects are much larger and more spectacular" than previous observations, said Chiao. \n\nIn Wangs experiment, a pulse of light passed through a small chamber filled with atoms of elemental cesium. A light beam traveling through such a medium has two different velocities a velocity for the individual light waves in the beam and a group velocity for the entire beam. Oddly, some light waves in the beam can actually travel backward for miniscule amounts of time, creating a sort of "tail" behind forward-moving waves. As such, a light wave and its tail can leave the gas cavity at different times, creating the effect that the light beam has left the cavity before its even entered. \n\nConfused? Youre not alone. In fact, even scientists who are familiar with this area of study are unsure about the details of Wangs experiment. And many scientists said the experiments results are still open to interpretation. \n\nWilliam Happer, a physicist at Princeton University argued that several specific problems exist with the experiment, including the fact that pulses get distorted when passed through any media other than a vacuum, or empty space. In addition, he said Wang and his colleagues performed the experiment in a way that doesnt tell the whole story, and that it can be interpreted incorrectly. "This is anything but dramatic," said Happer. "If you look at the data, theres essentially no evidence that [the beam] is going faster than the speed of light." \n\nWhats more, most scientists agree that even if such a beam can be proved speedier than light, it would probably not be able to carry any information. Such a feat could conceivably allow data to be sent back in time, thus violating laws of causality and sending quantum physics into disrepair. \n\nOthers are more optimistic as to the possible
144613
light rays do not move faster or slower than the speed of light.  the speed of light is the speed of light, period.\n\nthat said, light often travels *slower* than c, which is a constant defined as the speed of light IN A VACUUM, approximately 3x10^8 m/s.  here is a way you can actually observe some honest-to-god light traveling slower than c:\n\nstep 1.  find a window.\nstep 2.  look at it.\n\ncongratulations, you have observed light traveling slower than c.  in ANY medium (air, glass, water - you name it) the speed of light is slower than the speed of light in a vacuum.  \n\nin fact, the so-called index of refraction (n, which equals 1.4 for glass) is defined as the ratio of c to the speed of light in that material.  generally, denser materials have a higher index of refraction, and people have been able to make light go REALLY slow by making some very dense materials.  all of this is perfectly consistent with general relativity.\n\nas for FASTER than c:  under certain conditions, it is possible to make photons with a "phase velocity" that is greater than c.  however, when people speak of the speed of light, they usually refer to the "group velocity".  the distinction between phase velocity and group velocity is kind of technical; but phase velocity refers to the speed at which the individual phase fronts propagate through space.  \n\nit is possible to make these phase fronts go faster than c; but because the energy or information or whatever carried by the light travels at the group velocity, the actual speed (as far as stuff like general relativity is concerned) is still less than c.\n\nanyway, all of these results are entirely consistent with general relativity.  in fact, i don't know of any published results of a scientific experiment which are not consistent with GR.  \n\nthe fact that einstein's theory, largely concocted out of the blue from basic principles and logical reasoning, has stood the test of time for so many years is a testament to the genius of the man's work.\n\nhere are some links to learn about phase velocity, group velocity and the speed of light:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_velocity\nhttp://physicsweb.org/articles/news/4/7/8/1
1085897
no. think of the synapse. electric synapse in general. The speed of electricity is much slower than the speed of light. So, if you could think at the speed of light, you would be well beyond the fastest thinker of any kind. The link I provided will give you a little insight about the synapse and the speed of light
15559
Light travels roughly 186,000 miles per second. Einstein once said that nothing can move faster than light, and this previously was an accepted truth because visible light was considered to be just a wave of energy. However, when studying how light reacts to strong gravitational pulls, such as one from a black hole, we can see that it bends under gravity. This indicates that it shares some characteristics with matter. It could even have a minute amount of mass. If light shares characterisitcs with matter, then we can harness it and use it the same way we do air in a jet engine. Can we not go faster than the wind naturally blows with a jet engine? Yes. Then I do not see why we can't go faster than light when harnessing light itself as energy.  There have been several questions like this, and I really feel that traveling faster than lightspeed is only decades away.
697266
In a vacuum, the speed of light is 299,792,458meters per second and sound is 344meters per second at sea level and 70deg Fahrenheit.\n\nHowever, these speeds are dependent on various outside factors--namely the material they are passing through.
1035372
No! It would take someone of a stature in physics greater than that of Einstein to claim that the speed of light is faster or slower in other parts of the universe.  The speed of light is constant\nthroughout the universe and the reason that light cannot escape\na black hole's gravity is because the gravity is so strong. And that's due the amount of mass of the black hole.
102078
Yes there is sound. Don't confuse sound with 'hearing'. The speed of sound is given in ft/sec, varying with what it moves through.. There is no factor there for 'hearing'. If you turn on a flashlight at night and a beam is created, but there is no one there to 'see' it, light is still emitted; the beam is certainly there. It's the same for sound. Sound is a compresson/rarifraction wave moving through a medium. The wave is there, detected or not. Or take the case of radio electromagnetic waves. The wave is certainly propagated, even if no radios are turned on.
550989
Sound travels fastest through solids. This is because molecules in a solid medium are much closer together than those in a liquid or gas, allowing sound waves to travel more quickly through it. In fact, sound waves travel over 17 times faster through steel than through air. The exact speed of sound in steel is 5,960 meters per second (13,332 mph)! But, this is only for the majority of solids. The speed of sound in all solids are not faster than in all liquids.
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.
842139
No.\n\nIt seems like it ought to be different, doesn't it?  But the genius of Einstein's discovery was that the speed of light is a constant, and that it is the limiting speed of the universe.  Literally everything else--even time itself--will change in order to keep the speed of light constant (approximately 186,000 miles per second).  \n\nIt is a difficult concept to get your mind around, but it's been more than 90 years since Einstein did this work, and every experiment done since then has confirmed it.\n\nGood luck!!
168923
>>>>why can nothing excede the speed of light?\n\nLots of things can and do exceed the speed of light.\n \nNo information or mass can exceed the speed of light. Why? Because the speed of light is our one reference point. If anything exceeded the speed of light it would arrive at its destination BEFORE it was sent.\n\nIt's exactly like recieving a letter the day before it is written. It's impossible and  it makes no real sesne to ask why it can't happen. Cause has to preceed effect.\n\n>>>>if radio waves are slower than light\n\nRadio waves are just electromagnetic radiation. They travel at lightspeed just like all other EMR.\n\n>>>>>then wouldnt gama and X rays be faster?\n\nNo, they also travel at C. They just have higher freqencies.\n\n>>> or do all waves travel at the same speed and the light >>> part is just a term\n\nWaves have all sorts of speeds. \nOcean waves travel at variable speeds, often les than 10  kms.hr. \nSound waves travel at a bit over 1000km/hr. \nLight waves travel at the speed of light.\n\n_______________\nInfinity said:"By the way, the quote "Lots of things can and \n>>>>>>do exceed the speed of light" is entirely false.\n\nI really, really wish people would do some basic research before attempting to adress points they clearly don't understand.\n\nThe expansion of the universe itself is faster than the speed of light (see the link below).\n\nAnd as wd5gnr and Hound both said it is perfectly possible for non-information bearing events to propagate faster than lightspeed. We recently had an in depth discussion on the experiments which have managed to produce pahse vlocities hundreds of times faster than light.\n\nAnd of course there are many many other events that travel at speeds well in excess of C.\n\nReally Infinity, you should at least take the time to do some research before correcting others. It saves you embarassment of this kind. More importantly it prevents you misleading others and spreading your ignorance.
269338
The speed of light is 3 x 10^10 cm/sec or 3 x 10^8 m/sec or 3 x 10^5 km/sec.\n\nWavelength = speed of light / frequency\n\nBe sure you use the right units.
1170536
I will attempt an answer that is somewhat factual.  \n\nThe theory does not stipulate that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.  It stipulates that matter can not approach the speed of light.  In fact a hypothetical partical called a tachyon has been named that has a speed faster than the speed of light.  That partical has an imaginary mass. \n\nThe entire work comes from the equations developed by Einsten,\n\nE= MC^2/ sq rt (1- c^2/v^2)
38101
Because the speed of sound is set by the medium of sound (usually air) and hence your speed relative to the medium will make the speed of sound different if you're moving relative to said medium.\n\nThe speed of light is a constant for all observers, and light does not need a medium to travel through.