Fastest Speed?

According to Einstein's special relativity, the fastest speed in this universe is the speed of light in vacuum. This is true in the traditional definition of speed, which is the travel per time of travel. Consider the case in warm-hole (although it is just an scientific imagination, no observed evident for the existence so far ), a space ship can travel a much greater distance in given time. Even so, the traditional speed still obeyed. The situation is like taking a short cut. Your speed never excess the speed limit.

How fast is the speed of light? the numerical value is 299792458 meter per second. If we compare with a civil airplane, the normal cruising speed is around 900 km per hour, which is 250 meter per second. the speed of light is much faster by 1,000,000 (million) times! If a plane from Hong Kong to Tokyo takes 3 hours, light only take 0.01 second. Of course, light can never travel form Hong Kong to Tokyo, because the earth surface is curved. Moreover, if light can travel on the earth surface, it can run 7 and half cycles in just 1 second! Therefore, you can go to anywhere from anywhere less than 1 second.

The reason why nothing can faster than the speed of light is, a rather indirect reason, only massless thing can travel at the speed of light. And only non real things can travel faster. Thus, For real thing, which has real mass, cannot travel faster. I know it is not a good or logical reason. it simply reflects my limited knowledge but mathematics of relativity.

Many people may fall in a logical trap that "nothing can faster than the light". This is only partial correct because the missing of "vacuum". Think about the speed of light in glass or water. Because of reflective index, the speed of light is slower than that in vacuum.

In long history of human, this is quite amazing that there is a limit of speed, not by the technical limit, but imposed by theory. To see how amazing the result, simply think about what else in this world is limited? Through out technology, we think that we can make anything in dreams come true!

The understanding of limited speed affected our life and many other things, and also, limited a lot of other quantities.

Guess what is the fastest thing that human being has ever created?

Super car? Jet fighter? Spaceship? NO! is electron!

Scientists have built a thing called accelerator. Yes, this mechanics always accelerate things inside, like electron, proton, Helium nuclei. The fastest speed recorded is about 99.99999999% of the speed of light, but not exactly the speed of light. The time for taking an electron at this high speed require several days or weeks. This speed is only few meter-second slower than the speed of light.