It can look dumb, but I always had this question as a kid, what physical principles would prevent this?

  • folaht@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    15 hours ago

    If you’re openminded enough to listen to those who disagree with the standard model,
    take an elastic band and turn one end. Instead of the band turning, you’ll have a twist in your band
    and it takes time to unravel the twist if you let go on the other end.
    That’s what will happen to the stick and this travels at lightspeed,
    because this is how light works. Light works like ‘the stick’ in your example.
    And if you try turning it faster the ‘elastic band’/stick/‘atom on the other end’ starts breaking.

    If you need FTL communication, then use gravity…somehow.

      • folaht@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        6 hours ago

        I’m going way way out against the standard model here.
        No spacetime, no dark matter or dark energy, not even photons.
        Just a ‘3D big ball of yarn single object universe’.
        If light is a ‘turn of the “stick”’, then gravity is how ‘the “sticks” are binding the atoms together’.

        And so there would not be any gravity waves.
        And any measurement of them would then have nothing to do with gravity.

        And gravity is instantateous, and if not, really really fast or planets and stars would slingshot themselves out of orbit.

        • Longpork3@lemmy.nz
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          12
          ·
          15 hours ago

          Space bends due to gravity. Light continues in a straight line through the now non-linear space, thus appearing to bend.

        • Klear@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          15 hours ago

          Gravity bends spacetime, light always goes in a straight line, bent spacetime means straight lines can be curvy. That all checks out.

          But none of that helps you with FTL communication.

    • Pinklink@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      12 hours ago

      Probably quantum entanglement, which we (and certainly I) don’t fully understand yet