# German physicists claim to have broken lightspeed barrier **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 16, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857 "2007-08-16T21:24:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/21 "2007-08-17T06:06:31Z")
[QUOTE=Koxinga] Of course you know this means that a mad German scientist will now use this technology to go back in time and bring back Hitler. [/QUOTE] Not again! At least the Soviets won’t conquer Europe this time. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/22 "2007-08-17T06:47:44Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] **Mr Moto** , of all the times I’ve wanted to punch you, none equal my desire to punch you right now. 😉 [/QUOTE] So I guess it’s pretty unfortunate that you can’t simultaneously be arbitrarily certain of where he is and how fast he’s going, huh? … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/23 "2007-08-17T06:56:35Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] That sounds interesting if true, cite? [/QUOTE] > **[Chemistry news, research and opinions | Chemistry World](https://www.chemistryworld.com/)** > > Chemistry, covered. Science news, research, reviews, features and opinions. Read Chemistry World to keep up with stories from across the chemical sciences. [http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7168](http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7168) This article seems to have the most information including the scientist from Berkeley that replicated the results [http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/101ns\_001.htm](http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/101ns_001.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/24 "2007-08-17T21:35:21Z")
[QUOTE=Procyon] My intention is not to rain on anyone’s parade, but [an article on Ars Technica](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070816-faster-than-the-speed-of-light-no-i-dont-think-so.html) fairly lucidly analyzes why this experiment, like many that have come before it, is not the end of Einstein’s theory. [/QUOTE] Thank you for that. It was simple and convincing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/25 "2007-08-17T21:38:54Z")
So we’ve finally achieved Ludicrous Speed? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/26 "2007-08-17T22:33:43Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] A laboratory is as much a part of “real life” as anywhere else. [/QUOTE] No, not exactly. They can use some particularly weird circumstances to force some ludicrously small particle or bit of energy to jump faster than light. But you’ll NEVER see it in nature, and it takes advantage of some weird quantum entanglements effect or some other Star-Trekish technobabble, and it’s totally useless for any practical application, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/27 "2007-08-17T22:34:35Z")
[QUOTE=Eyer8] Hmmm… From [here](http://www.springerlink.com/content/q776p58585550165/): I remain skeptical. I wasn’t aware that the group velocity of evanescent waves was anything special. I have done work on coupling evanecent waves when looking at near-field storage techniques. I’ts going to take a little more reading, but I still think it is unlikely… [/QUOTE] Does anyone else feel like Charlie Brown listening to the teacher talk? Please don’t explain. I’ll google around later to see how much backfill I need before that starts making sense. It’ll be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/28 "2007-08-17T22:47:12Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] They are an excellent light snack. 😃 [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t they be fast food? ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/29 "2007-08-17T22:52:32Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] So we’ve finally achieved Ludicrous Speed? [/QUOTE] …they’ve gone plaid? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/30 "2007-08-18T02:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Wouldn’t they be fast food? [/QUOTE] Naah, they’re better than Mickey D’s. Thay give you a nice healthy glow. No, wait, that’s Chernobyl Chicken. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/31 "2007-08-18T02:34:37Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] No, not exactly. They can use some particularly weird circumstances to force some ludicrously small particle or bit of energy to jump faster than light. But you’ll NEVER see it in nature, and it takes advantage of some weird quantum entanglements effect or some other Star-Trekish technobabble, **and it’s totally useless for any practical application, ever.** [/QUOTE] How do you know that? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@bob\_co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_co)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/32 "2007-08-18T06:19:00Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] How do you know that? [/QUOTE] That is exaclty right. Nothing new to see here. Some particles behave like they have mass and some don’t. The ones that have mass have relativistic effects and the others do too. To a point. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/33 "2007-08-18T07:24:34Z")
I think we should get excited about it. Nothing is impossible if you can imagine it. That’s what being a scientist is all about! ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/34 "2007-08-18T11:32:30Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] No, not exactly. They can use some particularly weird circumstances to force some ludicrously small particle or bit of energy to jump faster than light. But you’ll NEVER see it in nature, and it takes advantage of some weird quantum entanglements effect or some other Star-Trekish technobabble, and it’s totally useless for any practical application, ever. [/QUOTE] You never see Baked Alaska in nature either. What does that have to do with anything? Wierd quantum entanglements do occasionally turn out to be useful. Lasers, superconductors, josephson junctions, SQUIDS, tunneling and atomic force microscopes… The apparent violation of C probably can’t be used to transmit information, anymore than the instant collapse of waveform in the Bell experiments can. It doesn’t mean the thing won’t be useful. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/35 "2007-08-18T13:30:05Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] Does anyone else feel like Charlie Brown listening to the teacher talk? Please don’t explain. I’ll google around later to see how much backfill I need before that starts making sense. It’ll be fun. [/QUOTE] All I know is, I want to be entangled with [the lead singer of Evanesence.](http://attitude.themercury.news.com.au/images/pastsaycheese/amylee.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/36 "2007-08-18T16:55:37Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] How do you know that? [/QUOTE] Just going by what they said some years back when they broke it. This isn’t the first time. But it relied on ridiculous and impossible conditions to attain a useless result -one which inherently couldn’t be used on anything mankind might actually care about, including information. It’s been awhile and I don’t recall the eact specifics. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/37 "2007-08-18T18:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=RaftPeople] > **[Chemistry news, research and opinions | Chemistry World](https://www.chemistryworld.com/)** > > Chemistry, covered. Science news, research, reviews, features and opinions. Read Chemistry World to keep up with stories from across the chemical sciences. [http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7168](http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7168) This article seems to have the most information including the scientist from Berkeley that replicated the results [http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/101ns\_001.htm](http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/101ns_001.htm) [/QUOTE] Hmmm. I’m still not impressed. The only evidence they’ve added is the cheapest and least reliable method for nuetron detection available. As one person noted in that article, the amount they measured would have resulted in them being fried. It reminds me of P&F’s ‘burned a hole in the floor’ claims. Tritium does not impress me either, its a notorious contaminant. The lack of independent, consistant replication is also bothersome. Something is happening in those chambers, but they have yet to convince me its anything other than a poor chemical battery. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/38 "2007-08-20T20:32:31Z")
Those photons are maniacs, and I hope the cosmic traffic cops pull them over. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/39 "2007-08-22T18:47:17Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] [Quote=xtisme] Anyone know what microwaved photons taste like btw? [/quote] They are an excellent light snack. 😃 [/QUOTE] That was worth the $15 alone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tibidabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@Tibidabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibidabo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857/40 "2007-08-23T14:12:51Z")
\ [QUOTE=Mr. Miskatonic] As one person noted in that article, the amount they measured would have resulted in them being fried. [/QUOTE] You got that backwards! Skeptics tried to attribute the results to background radiation from an unknown source, or cosmic rays… the researchers refuted this by stating that any background radiation powerful enough to influence the test would have cooked them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-physicists-claim-to-have-broken-lightspeed-barrier/415857.md?page=3)