Humans crave speed, evident in our passion for fast cars, thrilling roller coasters, and the swift pursuits of nature. Determining Earth's fastest requires defining "thing" and "on Earth." Notably, neutrinos and photons, unseen to the naked eye, emerge as top contenders, but are they the fastest thing on the planet?
Fastest Thing on Earth: Is Light or Something Else the Speed Champion?
Debating Light's Speed and Its Profound Impact in Space
Light, which travels at approximately 186,000 miles per second in a vacuum, is perhaps the fastest thing on Earth and even in the universe. It is equivalent to almost 700 million mph (over 1 billion km/h), allowing it to circumnavigate the Earth 7.5 times in a single second.
Initially believed to travel instantaneously, Ole Roemer, in the late 1600s, measured its speed using Jupiter's moons. James Clerk Maxwell's 19th-century theories on electromagnetism established light's theoretical speed at 299,788 kilometers per second, with laser precision in the 1970s setting its fixed value at 299,792.458 kilometers per second.
The speed of light is not constant and can vary in different mediums like air, water, or diamonds, slowing down under these conditions. Its official speed is measured in a vacuum, a space devoid of air or obstacles.
Notably, the universal speed limit of light impacts astronomy, making telescopes akin to time machines. Observing objects billions of light-years away provides insights into the cosmic microwave background radiation, a remnant from the universe's infancy, shaping the field of astronomy and our fundamental perception of the world.
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The Cosmic Speed Race: Light, Particles, and Neutrinos in the Eternal Contest of Velocity
Despite being ultra-fast, debates persist among physicists on whether light qualifies as a "thing" due to its lack of mass, despite being recognized as both a wave and a particle.
In the void of space, particles known as photons, constituting light, claim the title of the fastest entities, according to John Matthews, a physicist at the University of Utah. But complications arise on Earth, where atmospheric conditions influence particle speeds.
Matthews, part of a team studying ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, has detected fast particles like the Oh-My-God particle, which can approach or exceed the speed of light in Earth's atmosphere.
Neutrinos, characterized by their minuscule mass, outpace other particles and claim the top position. Despite their elusive nature, neutrinos have been indirectly detected in the IceCube experiment at the South Pole, where they can achieve speeds close to or even surpass that of light.
In 2016, scientists observed the fastest neutrino yet, attaining remarkable speeds with numerous 9s, showcasing the incredible capabilities of natural particle accelerators in the universe.
While the Oh-My-God particle, likely a proton, showcases impressive speed and mass, the neutrino takes the top spot due to its substantially smaller mass, allowing it to achieve even greater speeds when provided with the same energy. These remarkable particles, reaching speeds with multiple 9s, are produced by naturally occurring particle accelerators in the universe, reflecting the awe-inspiring wonders of nature compared to human-made particle accelerators.
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