Is it possible to travel faster than the speed of light? In a word, no—not so far, at least! Explore the possibilities with a video from Veritasium. The narrator responds to viewer-submitted ideas for creating devices or conditions that could lead to travel beyond the universe's speed limit.

Concepts

the speed of light, the speed of sound, photons, centripetal force, inertia, acceleration, force, weight, electromagnetism

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Break the class into groups and have them research failed methods of faster-than-light travel
• Pause the video after each question and let students try to figure out why each method wouldn't be successful

Classroom Considerations

• Pupils should have prior knowledge of acceleration, inertia, and the behavior of light

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Includes animations or live demonstrations of the physics behind each suggestion  
• The narrator explains each concept clearly and thoroughly
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2