# Faster than the Speed of Light? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2000, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724 "2000-07-25T03:13:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SouthpawLefty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@SouthpawLefty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouthpawLefty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/1 "2000-07-25T03:13:51Z")
I came across a very brief, yet very disturbing article in the July 23rd. issue of my local newspaper. The story says that scientists at Princeton’s NEC Research Institute have caused a light pulse to travel at “many times the speed of light.” Can someone explain how this is possible? Was Einstein wrong? Is light only the fastest in a vacuum? How can they even measure the speed of the light pulse if it’s going faster than the speed of light? Is someone now going to prove that world is really flat? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/2 "2000-07-25T03:20:35Z")
Is someone keeping tabs on the number of threads on this topic? I am afraid it may cause the board to collapse. Posted at the speed of light using 100% recycled electrons ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/3 "2000-07-25T06:41:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SouthpawLefty \* > \*\* Can someone explain how this is possible? Was Einstein wrong? Is light only the fastest in a vacuum? How can they even measure the speed of the light pulse if it’s going faster than the speed of light? Is someone now going to prove that world is really flat? \*\* Einstein was completely wrong. It turns out that the Catholic Church was right after all. So get back in there and start producing babies. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2000, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/4 "2000-07-25T06:50:01Z")
Southpawlefty You have just fell victum to the newest urban legend. This never happened! Some bored college students got together and faxed a news brief to some local news stations. News spread across the entire country so fast that by the time people realized it was false, thousands of newspapers had already reported it!!! So relax, none of it ever happend. The universe is the same as it was in June and no one is going to travel back in time. After all, nothing was ever mentioned in the bible about things going faster than light, so how the hell could it be possible. Stop believing everything you read. BTW, welcome to the board. And watch out for those needs under you movie theatre seat and gas pump! ---
**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:** [July 25, 2000, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/5 "2000-07-25T06:51:12Z")
needs= Needles ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/6 "2000-07-25T12:26:12Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=31425](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=31425) ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faster-than-the-speed-of-light/26724/7 "2000-07-25T13:11:00Z")
**SouthpawLefty** , welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board. In the future, please spend at least a few minutes in the archives before posting a question. Surprisingly enough, sometimes a person might have imagined and asked a question prior to a new person’s arrival here. Especially when the event that inspires the question has been reported in every media outlet in the world. I’m closing this thread. Please refer to any of the other five.