Physicists recently proposed the radical idea that our universe is dominated by tachyons, a hypothetical kind of particle that always moves faster than light.
About Tachyons:
Tachyons are hypothetical subatomic particles that move faster than the speed oflight.
The term "tachyon" was coined by physicist Gerald Feinberg in 1967.
They are distinguished from "bradyons," particles that travel at less than the speed of light.
While bradyons are familiar and include protons, electrons and neutrons, tachyons have never been observed.
According to special relativity, particles with mass cannot reach or exceed the speed of light in a vacuum because their energy would become infinite.
However, tachyons are thought to have imaginary mass, meaning their mass squared is a negative value. This implies thatthey could potentially travel faster than lightwithout violating the laws of physics as we currently understand them.
Tachyons would slow down if they gained energy and accelerate if they lost energy.
There have been a few experiments to find tachyons using a detector called a cerenkov detector.
This detector is able to measure the speed of a particle traveling through a medium.
Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. However, in other mediums, particles can potentially move faster than light.
If a particle travels through a medium at a speed that is greater than light for that medium, cerenkov radiation occurs.
This is analogous to the sonic boom produced when an airplane travels faster than the speed of sound in air or the shock wave at the bow of a ship.
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