A to Z Challenge 2013

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

T is for Tachyon

Okay, today's word is actually only theory, but I like it anyway.   The word is Tachyon and it means:

a hypothetical subatomic particle that always travels faster than the speed of light


This word just screams Sci-Fi.  And of course, if we could ever prove that it actually exists, we'd be light years ahead in our grasp of technology and the world around us (pun intended).  I suppose it could be argued that this word has been used too often, but I still like the sound of it.

Imagine if you made a gun that emitted Tachyons.  Does that mean the victim would be shot before you actually pulled the trigger (since going faster than the speed of light means going backward in time...theoretically of course)?  The ramifications of this type of thing just sends my mind in circles, but I'm loving the implications nonetheless.

What do you think about this word?

2 comments:

Rick Daley said...

I think tachyons spoiled the movie version of Watchmen! I like the exploding squid monster better than tachyons obscuring Dr. Manhattan's insight. It is a cool word, though.

Eric said...

Yeah, I have to agree with you Rick. I did like the movie, but the tachyons just weren't right. Great graphic novel though :)