On 11-09-23 03:30 PM, Dr Josef Karthauser wrote:
On 23 Sep 2011, at 00:55, Mark Iverson-ZeroPoint wrote:
My understanding of that postulate of relativity was "nothing with
mass" could attain or exceed C. Because, as the speed of the object
approaches C, inertial mass approaches infinity, attaining infinity
when v=C, and infinite mass is assumed to be impossible. Is the
neutrino's extremely small 'mass' real or apparent?
-m
I've never been so sure of that statement myself. I've been
uncomfortable with the conclusion that special relativity clearly
asserts that it is impossible to "go faster than the speed of light".
Actually, of course, it doesn't. Most would allow for tachyonic
solutions in which there exist states which correspond to particles
travelling at super-luminal speeds. The problem is actually the 1/x,
x->0 in the maths, which we try and explain as a problem of nature
instead of a problem with our mathematical reasoning, and leads us to
unresolvable considerations involving infinity.
From first principles if one starts with the notion that everyone
should see light as travelling at the same speed, then a simple
derivation naturally leads to the Lorenz contraction from which all of
special relativity is constructed. Then we go on to see that that
length contraction and time dilation must occur; a natural consequence
of the contraction equation. And, we have to ask the question "how can
a body have infinite mass"? Naturally we give up and say that it can't
and so it can't happen.
Not exactly.
The actual conclusion is not that no body can go as fast as C.
(Obviously, it can -- photons do.)
In fact, the conclusion is also not that no body can go /faster/ than
C. (In fact, it's SR which gave rise to the idea of tachyons.)
Rather, the conclusion is that */information/* cannot be transmitted
faster than C in any arbitrary reference frame, because to do so leads
to contradictions. Nature may or may not abhor a vacuum but I'm pretty
darn sure Nature abhors a contradiction.
See, for instance:
http://www.physicsinsights.org/ccentipede.html
Note, however, that FTL communication would entail no contradictions if
it were restricted to a /single, distinguished inertial frame./ The
problems arise when we allow FTL communication in an arbitrary frame.
With such a free for all, signals relayed from one frame to another can
arrive before they leave.
