Brandon9000 wrote:It is not possible for any material object to travel accelerate to the speed of light, so the question is meaningless, since you specify vehicles travelling faster than light.
This is correct of course. However, we should point out that there is a big difference between trying to accelerate a massive object up to, and past light speed (which is impossible), and proposing a particle which comes into existence and 'lives' in a state which exceeds light speed (which has been proposed in theory). These things are called Tachyons.
The truth is that most physicists consider tachyons to be a sign of pathological behaviour in field theories, and the interest in them among the wider public stems mostly from the fact that they are used so often in science fiction. More information on Tachyons can be found here:
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/FTL.html#19
Mmattin1, the reason you can't accelerate an object to light speed (or beyond) is that mass and energy are related such that mass approaches infinity as it approaches light speed. Think of it like pushing a boulder through space, but as it gets faster and faster, it also gets bigger and heavier (more massive). And since it gets heavier, you have to push harder and harder to make it go any faster. Near the end, as you get close to light speed, the boulder starts to get ridiculously large and heavy... planet size... star size... solar system size... galaxy size... and beyond. Eventually it gets so massive that you can't acquire the energy necessary to push it any more.
Stumble It!
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