hey all, I was wondering what you all think about tachyons. For those who don't know what tachyons are: Tachyons are particles, just like the usual electrons, quarks, photons and so on. Difference is, where 'our' matter reaches speeds that lie between (don't catch me on that one plz) 0 m/s and lightspeed, tachyons only reach speeds FROM lightspeed to infinite speed.

The particles were originally predicted by Einsteins relativity theory. That divided the world in baryons (0 to C), photons (C only) and tachyons (C to infinity). The theory also predicts tachyons will go faster when they lose energy, and slow down when energy is added.

I personally think that tachyons DO exist, and that they form (a large part of) the so-known 'dark matter'.

Tachyons might be bull but also might be a key to FTL propulsion, dark matter and the truth behind black holes...

What do you think?

A possible "hidden variable" explanation for quantum "non-locality"?

Heck, anything's possible. Though I have trouble visualizing how something can propagate at speeds approaching infinite.

I'm still thinking of a 'membrane' which only let tachyons pass one way..

tachyons have been outlawed by the string theory...

Originally posted by CalabiYau
tachyons have been outlawed by the string theory...

well tomorrow I'm going to an astronomy camp for about two weeks. A guy there is promoting on the string theory right now, I'll ask the master what he thinks :)

Originally posted by CalabiYau
tachyons have been outlawed by the string theory...
and tomorrow string theory itself will be outlawed;)

You can believe in tachyons all you want, but the fact remains that there is no evidence that they exist - so far at least.

Tachyons would have to be *very* strange indeed if they existed. They would allow FTL information transfer, which is outlawed by relativity. Anyway, just my thought.

I think I have a box of them in the corner somewhere...

{rustle}{rustle}

Ah... here they are.

{mmmphhh}

They taste like chicken... :o












;)

True, there is no evidence of tachyons yet. But how does the theory of relativity account for them? According to the theory, the more energy (namely, in this case, kinetic energy) a particle has, the more mass it gains, and therefore it slows down. Either tachyons do not exist, or they do not have mass.

Elaborate more on tachyons, please? And string theory, though it is a fun recreational mental exercise, is purely theoretical as of now, so I do not think that its "outlawing" any particle will have much weight.

Does somebody know a good site about tachyones?

zero,

<i>True, there is no evidence of tachyons yet. But how does the theory of relativity account for them?</i>

The usual relativistic formulae describe tachyons very well if you take them as having an imaginary mass.