FTL travel?

Does anybody have any additional information/resources regarding this experiment?  This article is well, shit in my opinion, it simply does not explain anything as to what is actually happening here.

Are radio waves not "information" as is implied by the third paragraph?

http://current.com/items/90301786_scientists-make-radio-waves-travel-faster-than-light.htm?xid=ch60

Radio waves and light are basically the same...

I know.  That still does not explain the claim that they can be made to go faster than light.

it is covered by relativity ( so nothing that could be of practical use  )
not as awesome as the article you posted suggests

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0903/0903.0399v1.pdf

Light is going faster than light?

Light is going faster than light?

Actually yes.  The non-visible light, or 'black' light as it were, contains a higher percentage of fast-twitch energy fibers as opposed to slow-twitch energy fibers along with a hollow wave structure.  This coupled with endless hours running from the constellation Leo and hunting Pisces with spears in the jungles of the cosmos allows for better overall conditioning.

it is covered by relativity ( so nothing that could be of practical use  )
not as awesome as the article you posted suggests

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0903/0903.0399v1.pdf

It's a bit above my understanding to be honest.  I thought reletivity prevented anything from being accelerated faster than the speed of light.  Im not really seeing the part in this link where it states how these radio pulses do not violate that law.

Actually yes.  The non-visible light, or 'black' light as it were, contains a higher percentage of fast-twitch energy fibers as opposed to slow-twitch energy fibers along with a hollow wave structure.  This coupled with endless hours running from the constellation Leo and hunting Pisces with spears in the jungles of the cosmos allows for better overall conditioning.

I take it this stupid answer is your way of saying this is a stupid topic.  Sorry if my feable understanding of Reletivity insults your intelligence.

I take it this stupid answer is your way of saying this is a stupid topic.  Sorry if my feable understanding of Reletivity insults your intelligence.

Not at all.  I just felt like being a smart ass after seeing trekky's post.  Has nothing to do with you.

Quote from: Ragnarr on July 01, 2009, 05:17:00 PM

I take it this stupid answer is your way of saying this is a stupid topic.  Sorry if my feable understanding of Reletivity insults your intelligence.

Not at all.  I just felt like being a smart ass after seeing trekky's post.  Has nothing to do with you.

In that case, I retract my previous statement.

Quote from: iznih on July 01, 2009, 12:04:14 PM

it is covered by relativity ( so nothing that could be of practical use  )
not as awesome as the article you posted suggests

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0903/0903.0399v1.pdf

It's a bit above my understanding to be honest.  I thought reletivity prevented anything from being accelerated faster than the speed of light.  Im not really seeing the part in this link where it states how these radio pulses do not violate that law.

"Observational data imply the presence of superluminal electric currents in pulsar magnetospheres.
Such sources are not inconsistent with special relativity"

it's above my understanding, too, i just trusted the author in that case
in genaral you aways have to distinguish two types of velocities when looking at an electromagnetic wave: group velocity (that should be bound to the c limit) and phase velocity (can be more than c). i don't know if that plays a role in that experiment but parts of a wave may travel faster than light without hurting relativity.

I read that part, what I really meant was there is no explanation as to how that doesn't violate relativity.  I guess that is the real question I am attempting to answer.

I found this, page, which I think explains it.  Not to good on the math, but I think I understand.

http://www.mathpages.com/HOME/kmath210/kmath210.htm

Okay I could be wrong. However I believe how it works is something that appears to be a wave moves faster then the speed of light. so although it appears to be a wave it is just a pattern that moves faster then the speed of light. however one part doesn't cause the next part to go off. this is going to be a impossible example but it is the best I could come up with. picture a set of pistons in a row. now picture that they are moving in a wave. now we could have a computer set it up so the wave moves faster then the speed of light however if I do something to one of the beginning pistons that affect will not travel faster then the speed of light with the rest of the pattern. so the information can still only go at the speed of light. Again this is just how I understood it I could be wrong.

I think you are right Optimistic. The phase speed of light ALWAYS travels faster than light when in a medium where mu /= 0.  However, information does not travel at the phase speed, but at the packet (or group) speed, which is ALWAYS slower than or equal to the speed of light. 

The phase speed of light ALWAYS travels faster than light when in a medium where mu /= 0. 

nope, sqrt(mu*epsilon)=c_0/c

with epsilon=1 we get
c<c_0 : mu>1
c=c_0 : mu=1
c>c_0 : mu<1

Nah, that's not phase speed.  



That is phase speed of a relativistic wave, and it is always greater than c when mu /= 0.

And another thing ... you are stating that light travels faster than c when mu > 1? 

oh, i think that's a misunderstanding. i thought you meant permeability when talking of mu. in that formula you would get higher values for c if mu /= 0 (except it's imaginary, that should be allowed as phase velocity can be below c_0 imo)
what i posted was the formula you get out of the maxwell equations

Radio waves and light are basically the same...

They are the same, silly.

Quote from: Soze on July 01, 2009, 11:07:54 AM

Radio waves and light are basically the same...

They are the same, silly.

It would be like saying bass is the same as treb. (yes I know I spelled it wrong I have no idea what the correct spelling is)
the both are made of the same thing but that doesn't mean they are the same thing.

On a barely related note, light can be slowed to around 35mph....

On a barely related note, light can be slowed to around 35mph....

actually if I remember right an article in science news this year said they stopped a photon.

Quote from: Soze on July 01, 2009, 11:07:54 AM

Radio waves and light are basically the same...

They are the same, silly.