What Happens If A Needle Hit The Ocean At The Speed Of Light?


What happens if a needle accidentally hit the water at the speed of light?

needle thread
needle thread (click here for original source image)

That is a question many scientists have sought to answer for years. In Physics it is often called “light speed” and in pure hypothetical physics it is called “time”. In pure theoretical physics time does not pass, only as energy jumps from point A to point B.

In real life, how long does it take light to travel through a distance? It varies depending on the diameter of the needle, the subject of the needle, the distance from the source, etc. How long it takes for the same needle to bounce once on the ocean floor versus bouncing off each time and traveling in the opposite direction is also an interesting question. It seems that the bounce-back effect of a needle traveling at the speed of light must occur in the real ocean.