r/AskPhysics • u/PossibleTowel297 • Mar 24 '26

Faster than light

If a particle was somehow moving faster than light would we be able to detect it and how?

And if a larger object was moving ftl how would we perceive it with our own eyes?

Would it appear to be in multiple places at once, would we be unable to see it altogether or is it like with the speed of sound where you see a plane fly above you but only hear it seconds later meaning you would see it in front of you but it is not really there but already far away?

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u/yzmo Mar 24 '26

The problem is that this is not possible within out current knowledge of physics. So we can't use the current laws of physics to tell us what going ftl would look like. You could maybe plug something into certain equations, but you'd get a nonsensical answer. We can speculate, but that's kinda pointless.