Hi! Wouldnt it be possible to exceed the speed of light without violating relativity by making gravity accelerate an object? Because gravity is simply bent space-time, an object wouldnt nessesarily "move" faster than the speed of light, it would be the bent space-time that is allowing it to attain those (relative) speeds. And because space-time can be bent in such ways as to create superluminal escape velocities (black hole escape velocities, for example)it wouldnt have to obey the conventional speed limit of relativity. Would such a thing be possible?
Question Date: 2010-06-18
Answer 1:
This is a very good question, and hits at the heart of General Relativity which combines gravity and objects with velocities close to the speed of light. This theory states that the speed of light can not be exceeded. This is true regardless of the mass of the black hole or the amount of spacetime curvature.
