# Are Tachyons Real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660 "2017-09-30T16:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/1 "2017-09-30T16:49:23Z")
I certainly don’t have a degree in physics. But I do still try to remain informed. And one of the many things I wonder about, is the Tachyon. I realize it only exists on paper, apparently as a thoughtful mental exercise, of a physicist. But how likely is it, really? Because I for one believe anything that can be conceived now, will in fact be discovered some day. Tachyons travel faster than the speed of light. So therefore they go \*\*back \*\* in time. Why the heck not? Also, I know this is not the best of cites. But I recently saw a show on the Science Channel, where they did an experiment that proves sometimes information **does** go back in time. It involved quantum physics. That is all I remember. Thank you in advance to all who reply:) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/2 "2017-09-30T16:53:34Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Because I for one believe anything that can be conceived now, will in fact be discovered some day. Why do you believe that? For reference, here’s a [Previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=780134) about tachyons, started by some random dude. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/3 "2017-09-30T17:02:22Z")
Purely theoretical, no evidence so far. Some philosophical reasons for them not to exist, time-travel being high on that list. It actually is fairly astonishing how many theoretically-predicted particles and forces and things have been discovered. Yukawa’s prediction of the pion is a really great story in science history, and the Higg’s boson is another. And String Theory is so darn pretty, it certainly should be true! But, alas, the universe doesn’t always adhere to our preferences. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/4 "2017-09-30T17:08:46Z")
Both pi mesons and the Higgs boson were predicted as elements of the standard model to explain observations that had already been made. (The strong force in the case of pi mesons, and symmetry breaking in the case of the Higgs boson.) There is no observed phenomenon that requires tachyons to explain it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/5 "2017-09-30T17:56:38Z")
Yes, there are theories that posit the existence of tachyons. But all of the theories that posit their existence also posit that they’d be completely incapable of interacting with tardyons in any way. At this point it starts getting philosophical: What is “existence”, and can an object be said to truly exist if it can never, even in principle, interact with us? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/6 "2017-09-30T19:53:27Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Why do you believe that? > > For reference, here’s a > [Previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=780134) about tachyons, started by some random dude. That wasn’t a previous thread. That thread came after this one. Tachyons. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/7 "2017-10-01T02:00:27Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > That wasn’t a previous thread. That thread came after this one. Tachyons. !panS ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/8 "2017-10-01T11:43:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yes, there are theories that posit the existence of tachyons. But all of the theories that posit their existence also posit that they’d be completely incapable of interacting with tardyons in any way. At this point it starts getting philosophical: What is “existence”, and can an object be said to truly exist if it can never, even in principle, interact with us? I recall Isaac Asimov musing that if there was a tachyon universe and we did manage to get into it we’d find find the Ts zipping around at FTL speeds, taking energy to slow down, more and more energy to approach light speed, with C as an inpenetrable barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/9 "2017-10-01T12:22:55Z")
If a tachyon were observed, it would look like this: > **[Tachyon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon)** > > A tachyon (/ˈtækiɒn/) or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are not consistent with the known laws of physics.\[a\] If such particles did exist they could be used to send signals faster than light. According to the theory of relativity this would violate causality, leading to logical paradoxes such as the grandfather paradox. Tachyons would exhibit the unusual prope In ... but no such observation has yet occurred. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/10 "2017-10-01T15:43:03Z")
the bartender says ‘we don’t serve faster than light particles in this establishment.’" "A tachyon walks into a bar, ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/11 "2017-10-02T01:59:16Z")
My understanding of the matter is that tachyonic quantum fields can exist, but that the interpretation of these fields as generating actual tachyon particles the same way ordinary quantum fields generate ordinary particles is incorrect. Tachyonic fields are unstable, and any perturbation of a tachyonic field induces the field to condense into a non-tachyonic one. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/12 "2017-10-02T02:03:32Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > the bartender says ‘we don’t serve faster than light particles in this establishment.’" "A tachyon walks into a bar, 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tachyon\_Theorist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tachyon_theorist/32/15_2.png) [@Tachyon\_Theorist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tachyon_Theorist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/13 "2020-04-22T14:25:31Z")
Maybe it’s not the object alone that causes a tachyon. Think about space, there is no friction in space, therefore it is a good place for solving the tachyon theory. If we could find a medium that allows objects to not only breeze through, but also speed up once within an area, we could be closer to producing the first tachyon and making it a law;). ---
**Author:** ![Tachyon\_Theorist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tachyon_theorist/32/15_2.png) [@Tachyon\_Theorist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tachyon_Theorist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/14 "2020-04-22T14:31:20Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > My understanding of the matter is that tachyonic quantum fields can exist, but that the interpretation of these fields as generating actual tachyon particles the same way ordinary quantum fields generate ordinary particles is incorrect. Tachyonic fields are unstable, and any perturbation of a tachyonic field induces the field to condense into a non-tachyonic one. The field that the tachyon produces is too unstable for a natural medium. However, certain mediums not only lack friction, but they also speed up objects that enter. I believe that the medium and the object must be precisely coordinated in order to create a tachyon. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/15 "2020-04-22T15:50:39Z")
> [@Tachyon\_Theorist](#): > > Maybe it’s not the object alone that causes a tachyon. Think about space, there is no friction in space, therefore it is a good place for solving the tachyon theory. If we could find a medium that allows objects to not only breeze through, but also speed up once within an area, we could be closer to producing the first tachyon and making it a law;). And how do you get around relativity? Besides there’s plenty of friction in space, especially at relativistic speeds. It’s a vacuum that’s frictionless. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/16 "2020-04-22T15:55:47Z")
If tachyons don’t exist then what to tachometers measure? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/17 "2020-04-22T16:04:17Z")
Tachos. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/18 "2020-04-22T16:14:04Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > If tachyons don’t exist then what to tachometers measure? :dubious: Clearly, at relativistic velocities, tacos are observed to become nachos. > [@Tachyon\_Theorist](#): > > The field that the tachyon produces is too unstable for a natural medium. Sounds like you think there’s some kind of tachyoniferous ether. No “medium” is required for EM transmission, and there’s no reason to suppose tachyons, should they even exist, automatically require one either. Is there a reason you believe this to be the case? Because it’s sounding a bit like a word salad, otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/19 "2020-04-22T16:15:12Z")
> [@Darren Garrison](#): > > Tachos. Are those tachos or tacho supremes? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660/20 "2020-04-22T16:17:26Z")
This post reminds me of a science fiction short story I read as a kid in which a scientist invented a device he could use to view any historical event-- it used tachyons to do this. When I started watching ‘Devs’ on Hulu: It was revealed early on, episode 2 or 3, that the Devs division in the Tech company Amaya was developing a device that could view events that happened in the past, demonstrated by a grainy test viewing of Christ on the cross. I wondered if they were using tachyons to do this, like the story I read as a kid, but it’s gradually revealed that it’s done through supercomputer-processed backwards extrapolation of causation chains, or something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tachyons-real/797660.md?page=2)