Is there an object in the universe that can go faster than the speed of light? I think there has been some research on this.

On the show Star Trek, Captain Kirk took the Enterprise into warp speed II. This meant the Enterprise was travelling faster than the speed of light. In reality, it is impossible for an object in this universe to travel that fast.

Light itself is massless. Since it doesn't have any mass, it can travel at, but not faster than the speed of light. Any object with mass (like you, your dog, or the Starship Enterprise) has to travel at speeds LESS than the speed of light.

About 25 years ago, scientists thought there might be particles that travel faster than the speed of light. These particles were called tachyons, derived from the Greek word for swift. No evidence of tachyons has been found. So it seems as if there is a universal speed limit, the speed of light, which no object can exceed!

Submitted by Ina (Florida, USA)
(September 2, 1997)



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