Physics/Speed of light
Advertisement
Question
light can travel slower in different medium but why not faster?
The limit of light speed is its own speed in a vacuum. When it is different media (air, glass, water), it travels less than its vacuum speed. In a sense, it DOES travel faster in some media than in others. However, it absolutely can not go faster than its vacuum speed -- that is not only its fastest speed, but the fastest you can transmit information in any manner.
WHY can it go no faster than that? We don't know -- in our Universe, it just doesn't. It would be a fascinating breakthrough to develop a paradigm of our Universe in which we could derive this fact, but (so far) nobody has come close.
Related Articles
Physics
Answers by Expert:
Expert
Expertise
I can help with understanding physics that does not involve eggs. I will NOT help with academic or professional questions, which are NOT limited only to homework. Please do not waste your time by asking a question that comes out of ANY kind of academic, professional, or business matters.
Experience
Have been fascinated by physical laws ever since I learned, at age seven, that magnets work under water. My study continued through college and has not ceased even after I retired.
Education/Credentials
B.A. in Physics (with honors) from University of California at Berkeley.M.A. in Physics (with honors) from University of Texas Austin.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.