Ask a Professor

Got a question on anything under the sun or beyond? Let a qualified FSU faculty member enlighten you. Snail mail to: Ask-A-Prof, MC 3067, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 or e-mail to: frankstp@mailer.fsu.edu

Q: Tachyons, a particle whose minimum speed is alleged to be no lower than the speed of light and indeed may move faster than the speed of light (FTL), have been predicted through advanced mathematics. My question is --what can generate a tachyon and how is it possible that something can move FTL when Einstein posited light speed was the maximum speed of anything? -- Ben Baker, Ashburn, Georgia

Dr. Vasken Hagopian, FSU particle physicist, replies:
    Einstein theory does not prohibit matter moving faster that light, it just prohibits matter from crossing the speed of light boundary. Stated another way, no particle that exists with a velocity less than the speed of light can be accelerated to exceed the speed of light. At FSU we made a search for tachyons in the 1970s by attempting to produce them in pairs in high-energy (particle) collisions. In theory, tachyons have some peculiar properties--for example, as they lose energy, they speed up and can only exist in neutral mode. While an interesting theoretical problem, no one seriously believes that tachyons exist.

Q: It seems to me that most researchers believe that a child is best raised in a two-parent home, generally under the supervision of one or both parents at all times. However, a common concept today is that the more caregivers a child has, the better and more well-adjusted a child will be upon being grown. Which is it? Do children raised at home vs. children raised (daytime anyway) in day care actually perform better and are they better adjusted, or vice versa, or is there a difference? --- Paula Caruso, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Dr. Murray Krantz, FSU professor of family, child and consumer sciences, replies:
    A positive developmental outcome for a child is improved substantially when the child has a consistently positive emotional relationship with at least one caregiver who lives under the same roof as the child throughout the early years. More than one positive relationship is a plus, but not nearly as important as is that primary relationship. The caregiver need not be blood-related. Given consistently positive relationships at home, day care can further enhance development if-- and only if--the quality of day care is consistently high. Since high-quality day care is relatively expensive and unavailable in our society, parent should be cautious in day-care use, particularly in the first two years of life. Low-quality day care, combined with emotionally unavailable parents, is a formula for developmental dysfunction and pathological personality development. The choices for parents and for our society are quite clear.