

Physics also co-opts the speed of light, using it to determine the potential energy of matter based on its mass.

If there were a particle that travelled faster than the speed of light, it would violate all laws of physics that are known to mankind. The most fundamental of these aforementioned physical laws is Einsteins theory of relativity, which set an ultimate speed limit for the universe 1. It is a hypothetical idea that was given its current name in 1976. This is why the speed of light is used as a universal constant by many astronomers when calculating the distance to points relative to their location to the Earth. ‘Tachyon’ is a generic name given to any and all particles that travel faster than the speed of light. Light has no such handicap and travels infinitely outward from its source at the same constant speed until it strikes a barrier. Warming the air ensures that sound waves can move more quickly through it. This means that temperature and barometric pressure change the speed at which sound travels.įor example, sound moves much more slowly in cold air, because the gas molecules in the air move more slowly. Meanwhile, sound relies on air pressure to transfer waves along its trajectory. Ships travelling faster than light can communicate with entities who are not travelling nearly as fast. Electricity and light are both forms of ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION (ER) and all ER travels at the same speed of.

Light maintains a constant speed throughout the universe and is the fastest that anything can travel between two points. There are a number of differences between how sound and light travel.
