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Question

What happens to the mass of a body if it travels faste than the speed of light

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Solution

According to Einstein’s equation E = mc^2, mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each other. Because of this equivalence, the energy an object has due to its motion will increase its mass. In other words, the faster an object moves, the greater its mass. This only becomes noticeable when an object moves really quickly. If it moves at 10 percent the speed of light, for example, its mass will only be 0.5 percent more than normal. But if it moves at 90 percent the speed of light, its mass will double.

As an object approaches the speed of light, its mass rises precipitously. For this reason, no normal object can travel as fast or faster than the speed of light.


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