Waves on the surface of the water
As you know, waves in different environments are different. Waves exist, for example, on the surface of the water. We can see these waves with the naked eye, sometimes, but not always, we can see their source, we can hear the splash of water. These waves are transverse. The speed of these waves is so low that it can be overcome, for example, by a waterfowl, a duck. Even any reader who knows how to swim can do it in water, or can move at a higher speed on foot on land. The trail left by objects on the surface of the water is called a wake. It is not accepted in the scientific community to assert that the speed of ships sailing on the surface of the water, or the speed of pedestrians, is limited by the speed of surface waves on the water. That is, it is not scientifically prohibited to move faster than waves on the surface of the water. Likewise, nature does not prevent you from moving faster,than waves on the surface of the water.
This is how a duck and even ducklings overcome the speed of surface waves:
And even below the ships overcome the speed of surface waves:
Waves in the air
In addition, waves exist in the air, that is, in the atmosphere. We can no longer see these waves, but sometimes we can see their source, for example, an oscillating string. We can hear these waves, or more precisely, we can determine the direction to the source using the organs of hearing. Such waves are no longer transverse, but longitudinal and can exist not only in gases, but also in liquids and even in solids. The trail left by objects moving in the atmosphere faster than the speed of sound waves is called the Mach cone; its cross-section by a plane resembles a surface wave on water, which may indicate the same nature of these phenomena. It must be said that before the advent of jet propulsion in science it was believed that it was impossible to overcome the speed of sound. But the ban, fortunately, was lifted and this happened relatively recently. To be honest,even earlier it was argued that a device heavier than air would not be able to fly. All this was quickly forgotten. And now, in the scientific community, it is also not accepted to assert that the speed of a bullet or plane is limited by the speed of sound waves. Nature also does not prohibit moving faster than sound waves in the environment in which these waves exist.
For example, a bullet overcomes the speed of sound waves:
Electromagnetic waves
And, finally, the most interesting thing, waves can also be electromagnetic. These are the same transverse waves as waves on the water surface, but they can propagate as sound waves in different media in different directions, and not only along the boundaries between them. And our organs of vision are so arranged that some (far from all, and even close not all) of these electromagnetic waves we can perceive with the naked eye, but also in a peculiar way. We cannot see an electromagnetic light wave in the process of propagation as we see waves on the surface of water. But we can see the source of electromagnetic waves, and if we are to be completely accurate, then we can determine the direction with the help of the organs of vision either directly to this source, or to the reflection of the source in the objects around us. Surely everyone is already waiting for that very hint from the title.So, in 1934, Pavel Alekseevich Cherenkov, the future Nobel laureate, discovered a blue glow of an unknown nature. It turned out that the reason for such radiation is the excess of the speed of electromagnetic waves in the medium by moving charged particles. There is even a rough picture of how this happens, but we will not see anything new on it, because the nature is the same, which means that the manifestation will already be known.
There she is! The same clue that has been in front of us for almost 100 years. If someone missed it, please note that particles with mass (it is established that these are electrons) move faster than electromagnetic waves in this environment. And if an electron can already do this in a liquid, then what will prevent it from doing this in a vacuum, or at least in outer space? Obviously, nature does not mind if something material with mass moves in some medium at a speed exceeding the speed of light in the same medium. And nature eloquently tells us this through the Nobel laureates (P.A.Cherenkov, Igor Evgenievich Tamm and Ilya Mikhailovich Frank, 1958 will not let lie). It may be worth paying attention to this hint already. Because if we can't build an engine yet,then perhaps this is at least one of the options for its creation. However, this phenomenon is not popular in the scientific community, although it would seem that science should pay more attention to uncomfortable issues, because this is what drives it forward.
I would like to end on an optimistic note. But, unfortunately, a very long time passes from the appearance of the prototype to the working version. From the first propellers of Archimedes and Leonardo da Vinci ... well, even if from the appearance of the Lomonosov propeller model (1754) to the use of propeller motion in the Wright brothers' aircraft (1903), almost 150 years have passed. From the first prototype of a jet engine (let it be 1867), to aircraft using jet propulsion (1930), another 60 years passed. We can only hope that an intelligent engineer has already appeared, with healthy skepticism, and besides skepticism, he will still need perseverance, dedication and much, much more. If we assume that a prototype appeared in 1934, then almost 100 years have passed and it is time for this savvy engineer to turn the prototype into the first truly working machine.which can, if not overcome, then confidently and quickly approach the speed of light. I am very afraid that many will dissuade the engineer, but I hope he will not listen to anyone and we will have time to catch the appearance of the first near-light engine.