Why can't you go faster than light?

One of the most counterintuitive facts of our universe is that you can’t go faster than the speed of light. From this single observation arise all of the mind-bending behaviors of special relativity. But why is this so? In this in-depth video, Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln explains the real reason that you can’t go faster than the speed of light. It will blow your mind.

[benji.B-side]

The was a woman named Bright
Who flew at the speed of light
She went out one day, in a relative way
And came back the previous night.

[dun]

0:54 So y'all not gonna talk about the Nigerian Prince in the e mails? 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[nycbearff]

Why didn't anyone ever explain this to me? Seriously, it took him 8 minutes. I'm seventy f##king one and no one has explained this little fundamental, essential piece about motion through spacetime to me before. Suddenly a lot of other things are much clearer. Damn. Thanks, Prof Lincoln, you're a star!

[peterj]

It’s the best explanation I’ve ever heard. I’m not sure if it necessarily explains why at the deeper level of mechanisms that make it so, but then this is something that scientists spend whole careers trying to work out.

[abdullahahmad]

Einstein's girlfriend, "I need two things from u space&time
Einstein-"Okay what's second"

[VoicesofMusic]

In the faster than light world, everyone says you can't go slower than light.

[dougfairbanks]

I missed a large chunk of this at the start when I read the email, "I am a Nigerian lost it slowly but you for that Sir!....(..& G'Day from Bunbury, West Australia).
Keep up the excellent work....clarity is much appreciated!

[Roonayy]

I've been told that the reason is, that as you move faster, more energy is required for increasing the velocity. Then at the speed of light, assuming you'd ever get there as a non-massless object, the amount of energy needed to accelerate beyond the speed of light would be infinite. And since we could never have an infinite amount of energy, we couldn't ever reach the speed of light, let alone go beyond it. Is this incorrect or just another way of looking at it?

[leefournier]

“I am a Nigerian prince” in your email. Nice 😂

[JIMJAMSC]

When you hear "just trust me on this" you know quantum physics is being discussed.

[vitorigatoni]

By far the best and simplest explanation of relativity and the connection of space and time I have heard. He knows how to get to the core of the subject.
Good job! I have become a fan!

[smittymcjob]

Both the notion of space-time and the abstraction explained here are mathematical tools to better illustrate and package the concepts contained in the theory of relativity. Even though I appreciate the simplicity they bring to the subject, it is perhaps a bit of a misrepresentation to claim that an abstraction constructed to simplify the concept is the reason that the concept works in the first place. To expand a bit on the topic discussed in this video, I should say that we have no notion of the speed at which we move through time so to say that when we are at rest then we move through time at the speed of light is an artificial idea that makes sense only in the context of trying to find a framework to make sense of relativity, and so to claim this constructed concept explains why you can't go faster than light seems wrong.
Neither spacetime nor the Minkowsky abstraction explain relativity but rather are mathematical abstractions to simplify visualizing the consequences of relativity.

[ventuslightning]

Ahhhh 🤔 So that's why when I go for an hour long run, time only shows 5 minutes have gone by

[just_arpan]

Love the "I am a Nigerian Prince" cameo in the gmail inbox! 0:55

[chadportenga]

The travelling car analogy is perfect. So easy to visualize Space x Time when thinking of it as North & East.

Now, what if you threw the car in reverse??? hmm....

[fpvflyer]

Sir, THANK YOU!! I find this topic very hard to understand.... Or did, until I came across your video. You've made it so easy to understand, and I find it intriguing. Thank you so much! 🙌🙏

[RavennaAl]

The true theory of relativity is this; If you're a millionaire and you die without a will, you'll suddenly have more relatives than you dd when you were alive.

[infect]

0:55
"Alpha Centauri is easy"
"The New Einstein"
"Relativity is an Illuminati plot"
"I am a Nigerian prince"


LOL

[richard]

This was way more clear than most of the fancy flashy pop science channels. Thanks

[CowTownKings]

It took me a long time to get this one, but it blew my mind once I got it! Thank you!