UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
What would happen to a particle if we accelerated it to the speed of light? Will the particle fade or will it turn into energy? PS: I know we can't accelerate particles to the speed of light, but I'm just asking "what if?"
Question Date: 2012-12-17
Answer 1:

As a particle approaches the speed of light, its momentum, mass, and energy all approach infinity. The reason why we can't accelerate something to the speed of light is because doing so would require an infinite amount of energy. Your particle would become infinitely massive.



Click Here to return to the search form.
University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use