Sound Pulses Exceed Speed of Light
A group of high school and college teachers and students has transmitted sound pulses faster than light travels-at least according to one understanding of the speed of light.
A group of high school and college teachers and students has transmitted sound pulses faster than light travels—at least according to one understanding of the speed of light.
The results conform to Einstein’s theory of relativity, so don’t expect this research to lead to sound-propelled spaceships that fly faster than light. Still, the work could help spur research that boosts the speed of electrical and other signals higher than before.
The standard metric for the speed of light is that of light traveling in vacuum. This constant, known as c, is roughly 186,000 miles per second, or roughly one million times the speed of sound in air. According to Einstein’s work, matter and signals cannot travel faster than c.
‘Mach c’? Scientists observe sound traveling faster than the speed of light
For the first time, scientists have experimentally demonstrated that sound pulses can travel at velocities faster than the speed of light, c. William Robertson’s team from Middle Tennessee State University also showed that the group velocity of sound waves can become infinite, and even negative.
phys.org
