superluminal adj.
having or being a speed greater than that of light; (also) designating an engine, etc., that can produce such a speed
Science
Propulsion
FTL
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1959 Logic of Scientific Discovery ix. 236
Saying that they are ‘spread with super-luminal velocity’ is about as helpful as saying that twice two turns with super-luminal velocity into four.
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1969 in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Dec. 103
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Isaac Asimov
An imaginary mass has no physical significance in our own subluminal Universe, so it has long been customary to dismiss superluminal velocities at once, and say that faster-than-light particles are impossible because there can be no such thing as an imaginary mass.
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1990 Inconstant Star in L. Niven et al. Man-Kzin Wars III (1992) . 204
Poul Anderson
bibliography
A warcraft of the Raptor class, lately modified to accommodate a superluminal drive, it moved faster than most, agilely responsive to he thrust of its gravity polarizers.
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2001 Analog Sept. 44/2
Don’t start drawing up blueprints for that time machine just yet, though; even though these experiments in superluminal propagation aren’t completely understood, it’s generally acknowledged that they don’t violate causality.
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2005 Judas Unchained xi. 539
Peter F. Hamilton
There had been no warning of its existence, no detectable superluminal quantum distortion waves which were the signature of human ships and missiles.
Research requirements
antedating 1959
Earliest cite
K. R. Popper 'Logic of Scientific Discovery'
Last modified 2021-01-11 23:51:47
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