The most intriguing difficulty in Earth’s super-speed universe, from rocket launches to cheetah hunting, is choosing the fastest “thing.” Photons and neutrinos, which transcend the visible spectrum, raise the question: Is light the only thing faster on Earth?
Some scientists say light doesn’t have mass, but others say ‘the idea of light being both a particle and a wave simultaneously’ is true. The University of Utah’s professor, John Matthews, calls photons the fastest infants in space.
Earth’s atmosphere adds another layer of complexity. After entering the bubble, photons slow down, creating the perfect chance for other fast-moving particles. Matthews, a cosmic-ray researcher, discovers that particles from space-borne high-energy cosmic rays showering on Earth at the fastest speeds have the most astonishing velocities. Particles flow through the Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds, bypassing conventional limitations and possibly exceeding the speed of light.
However, particle scientist Justin Vandenbroucke from the University of Wisconsin-Madison claims that neutrinos, the particles with the least mass and highest speeds on Earth, are the quickest objects. This fascinating examination of Earth’s hidden speedsters leaves just one question: what is the fastest “thing?” Fans and scientists are still intrigued by this search.
