The Large Hadron Collider can accelerate protons to 99.9999991% the speed of light. Why can’t we reach 100%?
In: Physics
Adding onto what someone said, it’s because protons are massive particles — meaning they have mass, not that they’re big. Things that have mass can’t reach the speed of light.
The famous equation E=mc^2 has a more complete form that’s usually ignored bc stuff is usually nowhere close to light speed:
E^2 = (mc^2 )^2 + (pc)^2
The notable difference is the addition of a term to address momentum (p). As things move faster and faster, their momentum gets higher and higher. Normally, at speeds much less than the speed of light, that momentum term doesn’t really affect the rest of the equation, since the speed pales in comparison to the speed of light. As things approach the speed of light, however, that term starts to matter; the amount of energy needed to go faster constantly increases as you speed up, to the point that it ends up being unattainable.
TL;DR the speed of light is the speed limit for stuff without mass, otherwise it’s gotta go slower!
Latest Answers