If the universal speed limit is 299,792,458m/s. And you had a rod several light-years long, and began spinning while holding the rod, wouldn’t the other end of the rod surpass the limits?
In: Physics
**IF** you could spin fast enough, yes.
**BUT**. The laws of physics as we understand them are consistent, and you’re looking at things from the wrong end (as it were) – if your rod is obeying physical laws, you **can’t** spin that fast, precisely **BECAUSE** it would make the other end surpass the limits.
As you speed up it will get harder and harder to rotate “a little faster” – and however strong you are, there’s a limit to your rotational speed that you’ll never reach. And if the rod is several light-years long, it’s a rather small limit.
*(As I work it out, the limiting period of rotation – in YEARS – is simply the length of the rod in light-years x 2 Pi. You can’t spin it faster than that without breaking known physical laws.)*
*(So if your rod is 1 light-year long, and you can somehow get the far end moving at a speed very close to that of light, it’s still going to take you over 6 years to spin it round you once. It will take about 7 days to turn by 1 degree. And you can’t spin faster – that’s an upper limit you can never quite reach, let alone exceed. You’re going to start out WAY slower. I hope you’re got a lot of time to spare.)*
What if you do this same concept but with an extremely strong laser pointed at the moon? I’m guessing a realistic exercise of this would result in the lazer being diffused way before the light reaches the moon but if, in theory, the laser is capable of reaching the moon intact, would moving your hand on earth result in the point on the moon moving at or above the speed of light? Or would the light bend and curve also?
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