Tachyons Are Faster Than Light, but Their Existence Is Unlikely; Here’s Why

Though physicists have not proved the existence of tachyons, there is a substantial reason why such experts do not think that such particles even exist.

Tachyons: Particles That Outrun Light

According to Space, hypothetical particles that consistently outspeed light are tachyons. Einstein revealed how these particles are capable of facilitating communication with the past. This, however, leads to the surfacing of various concerns on a universal scale.

The limitation regarding how anything with mass cannot travel at par with light speed is not simply an engineering limitation or imagination failure. Space notes how Einstein's theory of special relativity has such principles deeply embedded into universal laws.

Is It Possible For Something With Mass to Reach Light Speed?

If one wants to travel faster than light speed, this person would have to start from the point of rest and then bring a small nudge. However, because of mass, the nudge should be able to beat inertia to start. The person, however, goes on eventually. By launching a rocket, for instance, one can blast off.

However, when this person is no longer in the launching area, movement does not halt. There is some extremely advanced machine that enables continuous pushing and acceleration.

In speed cases that do not reach light speed, things still seem sensible. For each second of engine firing, equal acceleration and velocity boosts get generated.

However, something peculiar starts occurring when one gets closer to light speed. Equally inputted energy may lead to reduced acceleration. This, hence, leads to a smaller bang in the velocity. Even if engines are worked up to their maximum, one may notice that despite getting closer to light speed, this exact speed is never met.

In the end, to reach the speed of light, it is necessary to induce limitless energy into the engines, which humans cannot do.

The issue here is that mass is energy, according to Einstein's famous equation. With faster movement, kinetic energy gets higher. This means that with greater speed, one gets heavier. When approaching the speed of light, mass then reaches infinity. This, in turn, means that infinite rocket power is needed to be at par with the speed of light.

The Questionable Existence of Tachyons

Einstein's theory proposed that nothing with initial movement slower than light speed can accelerate enough to outrun light speed. However, according to the Scientific American, physicist Gerald Feinberg proposed the existence of imaginarily massed particles called tachyons.

Tachyons never go slower than light speed. Rather, they are always prompted to exceed the light speed and would go through equal difficulty in slowing down.

Before Feinberg, Einstein had such thoughts about the same idea. However, he found that such particles contradicted the universal rule of causality. This is especially the case when sending signals to the past, as contradictions and time dilation arise.

Because humans do not reside in a universe where causality contradictions occur, it is for this reason that the existence of tachyons is questionable.

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