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I'm asking this question because atoms can definetely not travel at the speed of light.

Atoms have electrons orbiting them at a speed very close to the speed of light, so, is it really possible for anything(macro objects) to travel at the speed of light?

P.S. : Is there any word for this condition where an atom loses electrons due to translatory motion?

abrn2195
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2 Answers2

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Photons (obviously) travel at the speed of light in vacuum. Any other particle with zero rest mass (such as the hypothetical graviton, if it exists) would also travel at the speed of light. Nothing with non-zero rest mass can travel at the speed of light in vacuum. However, particles can travel at or faster than the local speed of light in media such as water - see this Wikipedia article.

gandalf61
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Nothing with rest mass can attain the speed that light travels at in vacuum.

Andrew Steane
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