Science question: Speed of light

[Verbal Samurai]

Notwithstanding the recent developments with neutrinos possibly traveling slightly faster than the speed of light, we regard ~187,000 miles per second as the ultimate speed limit of the universe. Reaching it with solid matter is said to be impossible with current technology and exceeding it impossible in every instance.

But what if someone was to built a super-massive rod in space, capable of spinning from a fixed center like a wheel? Wouldn't the speed at the end of the rod be faster than at its center? If so, couldn't we build a rod that was so long, that turning it at its center, at technologically available speeds, would cause the end of the rod to theoretically reach or exceed the speed of light?

If so, what would happen?

 

[GrandmaFunk]

the rod would bend or break long before that.

the amount of energy required to break it's inertia would also make this unfeasible.

 

[DoPo]

Notwithstanding the recent developments with neutrinos possibly traveling slightly faster than the speed of light, we regard ~187,000 miles per second as the ultimate speed limit of the universe. Reaching it with solid matter is said to be impossible with current technology and exceeding it impossible in every instance.

I'm pretty sure someone more knowledgeable would come along and clarify, but I think that is called under question at the moment. It has to do with Einstein's findings but some scientists think he might have been wrong.

Anyway, according to Einstein, when travelling closer to the speed of light your ("observed", right?) mass approaches infinity. You can figure out the effects I assume.

But what if someone was to built a super-massive rod in space, capable of spinning from a fixed center like a wheel? Wouldn't the speed at the end of the rod be faster than at its center? If so, couldn't we build a rod that was so long, that turning it at its center, at technologically available speeds, would cause the end of the rod to theoretically reach or exceed the speed of light?

I think there are an awful lot of assumptions there. For one, you assume that it's even possible to begin with. I can see a few problems with "build arbitrarily long rod in space and spin it" aside from "do we have that much space" (pardon the pun) and "but where do we put the axis?".

 

[Jonluw]

If you're going to spin the tip of the rod at the speed of light, its mass is going to approach infinity.
This means the energy you need to use to spin the rod will approach infinity.
So unless you have an infinite source of energy, and an infinite amount of time on your hands, I don't see it working out.

Also: There's the problem that the kind of signals that are transferred between atoms in matter, i.e. the first atom you move pulling on the next one in the rod, can't travel faster than the speed of sound. I don't know if that'd make it more impossible or if the rod would just look bent though.