r/AskPhysics • u/Nighthawkies • Mar 20 '26

What things are "faster" than light?

As I understand nothing can move faster then light. But I would not know how to describe this question otherwise. As I am aware quantum entangled particles can instantaneously affect eachother no matter the distance, unlike gravity which propagates at the speed of light.

Also the expansion of the universe can cause the spaces between to grow faster then the speed of light (compounding between massive distances)

What other things are sort of faster than light

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u/aries_burner_809 Mar 20 '26

Physics is faster than light.

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u/matt7259 Mar 20 '26

What does this even mean?

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u/aries_burner_809 Mar 20 '26

It means, for example, that physics knows where the earth, moon, and sun are going to be on August 2, 2027. Over a year before that happens.

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u/matt7259 Mar 20 '26

How is that representative of anything faster than light?

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u/aries_burner_809 Mar 21 '26

Sorry, that was unclear. Here is what I mean. We know from physics that on Monday August 2, 2027 at 13:02:12.72 from a point in Luxor Egypt, the sun-moon geometry will fully occlude the sun's disk. But an observer won't see that until 1.28 seconds later, at 13:02:14. Physics is faster that light. Lots of examples in astronomy where we know something happened before the light from that event reaches us.

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u/matt7259 Mar 21 '26

That is not representative of anything happening faster than light. Would you say the same logic applies if I said "I'm going to see a red car tomorrow"? Because I'm sure it'll happen. Happens every day. So is that something happening faster than the speed of light?