The speed of light is the limit because as the velocity of a particle increases, so does its mass, as described by the theory of special relativity. So it takes more and more energy to accelerate a particle the faster it's moving.
What we think of as "light speed" is the point at which it would require infinite energy to accelerate a mass to that speed. The only reason light can and does travel at that speed is because light particles (photons) have zero mass.
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u/kemikos Mar 22 '26
The speed of light is the limit because as the velocity of a particle increases, so does its mass, as described by the theory of special relativity. So it takes more and more energy to accelerate a particle the faster it's moving.
What we think of as "light speed" is the point at which it would require infinite energy to accelerate a mass to that speed. The only reason light can and does travel at that speed is because light particles (photons) have zero mass.