Science News

Particles that move faster than c might sound like pure sci-fi, but it wouldn't be as hard to square with current physics as you might think. Visit Discover Magazine to read this article and other exclusive science and technology news stories.

Einstein's classic thought experiment involves sitting on a train travelling at the speed of light. If you hold a mirror in front of your face, will you see your reflection in a mirror? How could light from your face reach the mirror if the mirror is travelling away from you? But it would be a pretty spooky train if you couldn't see your reflection so Einstein felt this solution wasn't realistic. On the other hand if you could see your reflection, it would mean light was travelling at the speed of light inside the train. But that meant the same light observed from outside the train would be going twice the speed of light. This again seems inconsistent. So Einstein resolved that you must see your reflection but that light must travel at the same speed inside and outside the train. The only way this is possible is if space and time are perceived differently by observers inside and outside the train.

The unification of quantum mechanics and Einstein's general relativity is one of the most exciting and still open questions in modern physics. General relativity, the joint theory of gravity, space and time gives predictions that become clearly evident on a cosmic scale of stars and galaxies. Quantum effects, on the other hand, are fragile and are typically observed on small scales, e.g. when considering single particles and atoms.