Tachyons: What to know about the particle that can beat light in a race

iStock [{ "selector": ".jggmm-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }]

SCIENCE

iStock [{ "selector": ".eomir-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

iStock [{ "selector": ".jwqux-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

iStock [{ "selector": ".pkpxn-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

iStock [{ "selector": ".dcjam-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".dxmwk-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

Gerald Feinberg, a physicist and science author, suggested that tachyonic particles may be created from excitations of a quantum field with "imaginary" mass.

iStock [{ "selector": ".nwzon-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

[{ "selector": ".exsrk-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

solarseven/iStock iStock [{ "selector": ".auaxn-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

SCIENCE

iStock [{ "selector": ".pwfll-a", "duration": "250ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "750ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn More

STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE LATEST ENGINEERING NEWS

[{ "selector": ".aqumf-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "500ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".mnocm-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "1000ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }, { "selector": ".ztxkx-a", "duration": "500ms", "fill": "forwards", "delay": "2000ms", "keyframes": [ {"offset": 0, "opacity": 0}, {"offset": 1, "opacity": "1"} ] }] Learn more

Tachyons: What to know about the particle that can beat light in a race

SCIENCE

BY CHRISTOPHER McFADDEN

SCIENCE

Tachyons are hypothetical particles that can travel faster than light.

SCIENCE

They were first "invented" in the 1960s and became popular in fiction.

SCIENCE

If they do exist, it could open the door for faster-than-light communication, among other things.

SCIENCE

Dr. Jenna Crowe-Riddell

The term "tachyon" is derived from the Greek word tachy, which means fast.

Gerald Feinberg, a physicist and science author, suggested that tachyonic particles may be created from excitations of a quantum field with "imaginary" mass.

SCIENCE

SCIENCE

Most physicists think of tachyons as nonphysical particles because they would need to have imaginary mass, can defy causality, and have never been seen in nature.

SCIENCE

Since they travel faster than light, using photons or particles with mass would be entirely out of the question.

SCIENCE

More in the article.

STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE LATEST ENGINEERING NEWS

SWIPE UP TO GET STARTED