faster than light
by Mike Fainzilber
the darkness
within
Einstein’s theory of relativity states that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Physicists from Ido Kaminer’s group at the Technion in Israel have now observed that whirlpools in light travel faster than the light wave that forms them within(1). The measurements were made in a custom-modified high-speed electron microscope with a resolution on the order of quadrillionths of a second.
The findings do not negate the theory of relativity, since the ultraspeed vortices are part of the wave geometry and do not have mass or energy. For a layperson’s summary of the discovery see writeup by Michelle Starr in Science-Alert(2).
Further reading:
(1) ‘Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities’, 2026, Bucher, T., et al., Nature, available: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z
(2) ‘Physicists Found Something That Can Move Faster Than Light: The Darkness Inside It’, 2026, Starr, M., ScienceAlert, available: https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-found-something-that-can-move-faster-than-light-the-darkness-inside-it
Author bio:
Mike Fainzilber’s day job is a biologist. He began writing haiku and senryu during the pandemic, and this side effect of COVID-19 has not worn off yet. Editors in his two spheres of activity have been known to suggest that he should best restrict his efforts to the other sphere. Find out more about Mike’s research via his lab’s website and connect with him on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/mfainzilber.bsky.social .