The Physics of Tachyons

Author

Tim Sanchez

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Colladay, Donald

Keywords

Tachyon, Superluminal, Relativity, Causality

Area of Concentration

Physics

Abstract

Tachyons are hypothetical particles that travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, c = 3 .108 m/s. As c traditionally acts as a relativistic limit on the velocity of objects, it is natural to primarily examine tachyon theory in the context of Special Relativity. Consequently, an overview of Special Relativity is provided as the background for the discussion. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the theoretical properties of the tachyon as well as the challenges to current physical paradigms brought about by tachyon theory. The historical development of arguments for and against the possibility of tachyons is presented; and finally tachyons are discussed within the tramework of contemporary research.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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