Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have found a way to create radio waves that travel faster than light (nearly 300 million meters per second or about 670 million miles per hour). This is done by a device called the Polarization Synchrotron (shown at left) that alters radio waves with a spinning magnetic field, forcing them to go faster than light. John Singleton, a fellow at the lab, likens the process to "abus[ing] radio waves so severely that they finally give in and travel faster than light." He claims that this process would explain why pulsars -dense, spinning stars- emit powerful signals. The faster light signal could catch up to the normal speed signal. As our telescopes pick up the two signals at once, it would appear as a more powerful signal.

The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically.

The Department of Energy has awarded the lab a $3 million grant to develop the project.

"http://www.examiner.com/x-14336-Memphis-Technology-News-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Scientists-create-radio-waves-that-travel-faster-than-light"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anbar7,

Obviously no links but what is the source for this article?

quote:

Originally posted by Bladensburg:
Obviously no links but what is the source for this article?

My bad. I added it in.

Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

It will be interesting to see how they will use this. It speaks of no dead zones and more secure communications. Contractors should be jumping all over this.

I don't know. This sounds a lot like the Cold Fusion claim of several years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Anbar7:

quote:

Originally posted by Bladensburg:
Obviously no links but what is the source for this article?

My bad. I added it in.

A thousand thanks for this link. Hit the spot. This morning while mindlessly going through alternate side of the street parking, I had one of the science fiction flashes when I spole to a young woman passing bye. Before we could talk she had to unplug all the high tech cell phone equipment coming out of her ears, and I was struck by the similarity of some science fiction book written in the fifties.

Now I turn on my computer (My computer?) and here that the speed of light barrier has fallen, sort of like an Ursala K. LeGuin story.

My parents lived in Czarist Russia, where railroads were magic, and no one knew about the germ theory of medicine. What incredible changes we are living through, and how we quick they become normal.

Thanks again!!!!

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

don't things disapear at the speed of light?

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

I'm waiting for the anti-gravity technology so the astronauts can stroll around the onboard tropical garden in their bedroom slippers.

This reminds me of the 1941 short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" by Jorge Luis Borges. It's a story about an intricate book and an intricate labyrinth, a labyrinth of time, not space.

The way I understand this is it is an apparent speed increase based on point-of-view. Einsten stated that when a flashlight travelling near the speed-of-light is turned on, the speed of the light does not change. That is what this experiment is doing. It is assuming that radio waves break the speed limit because they get a boost. Even with the push, waves will not exceed the speed limit.

No where in the article does it give an actual speed, because it is impossible to measure anything moving faster than the speed of light. Much like it is impossible to measure absolute zero thermal energy. Measurement instruments do not work when approaching limits like the speed-of-light.

Einsten can rest easy. His relativity theories still hold up.

quote:

Originally posted by badmac933:
I don't know. This sounds a lot like the Cold Fusion claim of several years ago.

What was called Cold Fusion is still out there under a variety of different monikers. Scientists try to avoid using that name because of the prejudice associated with it but many have a go at research, not least because the results are so unpredictable and therefore a fascinating puzzle.
Sometimes it's possible to reciprocate or improve on the original "Cold Fusion" results and yet fail the next day using the same apparatus.

Indeed It had been theorized what a year or two ago that it would be possible for something to travel faster than light, but given that radio waves are a form of electromagnetic waves and light is a form of electromagnetic waves could it be they have just created light waves in a different form and it really is not traveling faster than light but is itself light in a different form?

Also if it is a radio wave, and the wave is traveling faster than light, could it not be transmitted to a future time? So say I sent this wave and since traveling to the future is supposedly possible, one could pick up a signal from the past? I sent a wave at 10:00am and all it contained was the words "ten am" then someone that is at 2pm should be able to pick that live signal up? They have said it is possible to transmit data in time.

quote:

Originally posted by badmac933:
I don't know. This sounds a lot like the Cold Fusion claim of several years ago.

Actual that is becoming closer to a reality as well.

Here's a more detailed article on this

"http://www.santafenewmexican.com/HealthandScience/LANL_scientist_makes_radio_waves_travel_faster_than_light"

good read.

quote:

Originally posted by EAG154:

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

don't things disapear at the speed of light?

Nice try, but it seems he still rules:

"If Einstein were still alive, he probably wouldn't be all that surprised by the discovery, Perez said, even if it does seem on the surface to conflict with some of his theories.

"He might have thought, 'why did this take so long,' " Perez said. "

quote:

Originally posted by crackerjacks61:

quote:

Originally posted by EAG154:

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

don't things disapear at the speed of light?

Nice try, but it seems he still rules:

"If Einstein were still alive, he probably wouldn't be all that surprised by the discovery, Perez said, even if it does seem on the surface to conflict with some of his theories.

"He might have thought, 'why did this take so long,' " Perez said. "

"http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080115-st-massive-black-hole.html

When I get this all figured out with complete understanding I'll post my revelations

quote:

Originally posted by EAG154:

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

don't things disapear at the speed of light?

Seems ole "Einy" was wrong!...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

quote:

Originally posted by EAG154:

quote:

Originally posted by crackerjacks61:

quote:

Originally posted by EAG154:

quote:

Originally posted by SUNLINER81:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Department of Defense is gona love this:

"No specific acheived speed has been released, but the waves that LANL have created are said to be very powerful and are about the size of a pencil point. Singleton already has a few ideas for such a technology. The needle-wide waves could be used for new cell phones to connect to satellites directly, instead of having to go through towers, which could provide faster, more secure communication without dead zones. The new technology could also assist in chemotherapy. In chemo, drugs are administered and activated by radio waves that hit the entire body. With the new, thinner waves, the drugs could be used in a more localized manner to target tumors specifically."

Next step, time travel = =

Next step, communication and travel to the stars...
Respectfully, SUNLINER81

don't things disapear at the speed of light?

Nice try, but it seems he still rules:

"If Einstein were still alive, he probably wouldn't be all that surprised by the discovery, Perez said, even if it does seem on the surface to conflict with some of his theories.

"He might have thought, 'why did this take so long,' " Perez said. "

"http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080115-st-massive-black-hole.html

When I get this all figured out with complete understanding I'll post my revelations

We shall await your utterances...
LOL Respectfully, SUNLINER81