Expert: Steve Nelson - 5/19/2009

Question
1-Why is light bent  by a gravitational field?And how?
2-What is the theoretical backing behind the fact that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light? If this happens ,what can be the result.
3-Please can you help me explain the meaning of an infinite curvature;as in the theory of relativity?

Answer
Light isn't actually bent, light travels in a straight line.  It's space that's bent, meaning a straight line no longer goes straight in a gravitational field.

Objects called tachyons could theoretically travel faster than light, physics doesn't preclude their existence.  However, due to relativistic effects the mass and energy of an object increase infinitely as it approaches the speed of light (the Lorentz contraction also causes its electric field to shrink to zero, causing infinite energy density).  Therefore you can't get to the speed of light, but there may be nothing keeping an object (if a shortcut can be found around this) from exceeding that speed.

I'm not sure what you mean by infinite curvature.