The movies are one thing, but this is how science may actually get us there.
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00:04 Traveling at the speed of light would likely be crucial for traversing the cosmos.
00:07 After all, most vast distances in space are measured by light years.
00:11 But is there any real way for mankind to ever move that fast?
00:14 According to Einstein, not really.
00:16 But there could be hope.
00:17 His theory of relativity explains that as an object with mass gets closer and closer
00:21 to traveling at the speed of light, the more and more energy it would need to achieve it.
00:25 The math works out that you would need an infinite amount of energy to ever pass the
00:28 light speed threshold.
00:30 But again, that's for objects with mass.
00:32 ScienceAlert points out that theoretical tachyons, or particles with what is sometimes called
00:37 imaginary mass, are always traveling the speed of light.
00:40 These particles are theoretical, but they are also theoretically always going backwards
00:44 in space-time.
00:45 So, possibly good for time travel, but even if they're real, likely not going to help
00:49 us with space travel.
00:50 However, Einstein's theory of relativity does suggest the existence of wormholes is
00:54 possible, where we fly an object into one point in space and are deposited elsewhere,
00:59 possibly thousands, millions, or even billions of light years away.
01:02 Now we just have to find one.
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