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German Physicists Claim Speed of Light Broken
Byzanthy writes "Two German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light by using 'microwave photons.' According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate any object beyond the speed of light. However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they did it by using a phenomenon known as quantum tunneling.
The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons — energetic packets of light — traveled 'instantaneously' between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart." New Scientist, however, is running an article that suggests Einstein can rest easy. Aephraim Steinberg, a quantum optics expert at the University of Toronto, explains that the German physicist's results aren't necessarily wrong, they are just being interpreted incorrectly.
What are they going to do to fix it?
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
How am I supposed to welcome our new microwave-photon overlords if they've already arrived?
The time barrier's been broken, so where's that damn warp drive?
I brought enough for everyone.
-tyfighter
You have to walk the plank.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
I liked Niels Bohr's response to Einstein's comment:
"Einstein, stop telling God what to do."
then how does a photon, WHICH HAS VOLUME AND MASS, travel at the speed of light without having the same mass/energy as the whole of the universe?
Well, you've proven one theory of mine - any postulate typed in uppercase is guaranteed to be incorrect. ;)
Only if you're within 52 light years of him.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
And lo, the greatest joke post title ever finally gets to be used!
stuff |
Suppose we put Angelina Jolie on a rocket and send her to Mars. While there, they open the envelope. Angelina instantly becomes an Oscar winner. She doesn't know it because information will take several minutes to get there, but her state changes instantly.
I use Ms. Jolie because she is frequently mentioned as part of an "entangled pair".
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
As you aptly noted, I omitted the "C", which represents the Speed of Light, which was likewise absent in this case.
Thus, what appeared to be a simple gaff to the untrained eye is actually a sophisticated reference en passant.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ