tachyon

tachyon
/tak"ee on'/, n. Physics.
a hypothetical particle that travels faster than the speed of light.
[1967; TACHY- + -ON1]

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Hypothetical subatomic particle whose velocity is always greater than that of light.

Its existence appears consistent with the theory of relativity. Just as an ordinary particle such as an electron can exist only at speeds less than that of light, a tachyon can exist only at speeds greater than that of light. At such speeds, its mass would be real and positive. On losing energy, a tachyon accelerates; the faster it travels, the less energy it has. The existence of tachyons has not been established experimentally.

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      hypothetical subatomic particle whose velocity always exceeds that of light. The existence of the tachyon, though not experimentally established, appears consistent with the theory of relativity, which was originally thought to apply only to particles traveling at or less than the speed of light. Just as an ordinary particle such as an electron can exist only at speeds less than that of light, so a tachyon could exist only at speeds above that of light, at which point its mass would be real and positive. Upon losing energy, a tachyon would accelerate; the faster it traveled, the less energy it would have.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • tachyon — [ takjɔ̃ ] n. m. • 1970; de tachy et on des n. de particules ♦ Phys. Particule hypothétique, de vitesse supérieure à celle de la lumière dans le vide. ● tachyon nom masculin Particule hypothétique possédant une vitesse supérieure à la vitesse de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • tachyon — (n.) 1967, hypothetical faster than light particle, from TACHY (Cf. tachy ) swift + ON (Cf. on) …   Etymology dictionary

  • tachyon — [tak′ē än΄] n. a theoretical subatomic particle conceived of as traveling faster than the speed of light: see also TARDYON …   English World dictionary

  • Tachyon — A tachyon (from the Greek polytonic|ταχυόνιον, takhyónion , from polytonic|ταχύς, takhýs , i.e. swift, fast) is any hypothetical particle that travels at faster than light speed. The first description of tachyons is attributed to German physicist …   Wikipedia

  • Tachyon — En physique des particules, on nomme tachyon une particule (ou plutôt une classe de particules) satisfaisant aux équations de la relativité restreinte mais qui, si elle existait, se déplacerait à une vitesse supraluminique, c est à dire… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tachyon — Tachyonen (von griechisch tachýs ‚schnell‘) sind hypothetische Elementarteilchen, die sich schneller als das Licht bewegen. Solche Teilchen werden als superluminar bezeichnet. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Tachyonen als theoretische Möglichkeit 2… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tachyon — tachionas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. tachyon vok. Tachyon, n rus. тахеон, m; тахион, m pranc. tacheon, m; tachyon, m …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • tachyon — tachionas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. tachyon vok. Tachyon, n rus. тахеон, m; тахион, m pranc. tacheon, m; tachyon, m …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • Tachyon — Tạ|chy|on, das; s, ...yonen [engl. tachyon, zu: tachy (< griech. tachýs, ↑tachy , ↑Tachy , ) u. ↑Ion] (Kernphysik): hypothetisches Elementarteilchen, das Überlichtgeschwindigkeit besitzen soll …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Tachyon —    This hypothetical particle only travels faster than the speed of light. Data or messages could be piggy baked onto a Tachyon particle to send messages faster than light, or into the future …   The writer's dictionary of science fiction, fantasy, horror and mythology

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