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The speed of gravitational waves in the general theory of relativity is equal to the speed of light in vacuum, c. [3] Within the theory of special relativity, the constant c is not only about light; instead it is the highest possible speed for any interaction in nature.
Faster-than-light (superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light in vacuum (c). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero rest mass (i.e., photons ) may travel at the speed of light, and that nothing may travel faster.
The Alcubierre drive ([alkuˈβjere]) is a speculative warp drive idea according to which a spacecraft could achieve apparent faster-than-light travel by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, under the assumption that a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (that is, negative mass) could be created.
The speed of light is the upper limit for the speeds of objects with positive rest mass, and individual photons cannot travel faster than the speed of light. [40] This is experimentally established in many tests of relativistic energy and momentum .
If the dumbbell spins around its axis of symmetry, it will not radiate gravitational waves; if it tumbles end over end, as in the case of two planets orbiting each other, it will radiate gravitational waves. The heavier the dumbbell, and the faster it tumbles, the greater is the gravitational radiation it will give off.
Hubble's law predicts that objects farther than the Hubble horizon are receding faster than light. This outcome is not in violation of special relativity. Since special relativity treats flat spacetimes, it is only valid over small distances within the context of the curved spacetime of the universe.
The light-cones define a causal structure: for each event A, there is a set of events that can, in principle, either influence or be influenced by A via signals or interactions that do not need to travel faster than light (such as event B in the image), and a set of events for which such an influence is impossible (such as event C in the
The observation that the solar system is old enough allowed him to put a lower limit on the speed of gravity that turned out to be many orders of magnitude faster than the speed of light. [5] [7] Laplace's estimate for the speed of gravity is not correct in a field theory which respects the principle of relativity.