Max Speed of Molecules: 1 Electron Stripped?

[DanMP]

TL;DR Summary

What is the maximum speed we accelerated molecules without striping more than one electron?

I know that we accelerated charged particles very close to the speed of light. How about a full molecule, with at least 2 nuclei and most of the electrons? What is the maximum speed achieved/recorded before the molecule broke apart?

I ask this question because I'm afraid that the maximum speed of travel for complex structures (like us, our robots, etc.) may be much lower than c. If it is much lower, then interstellar travel may be even less possible/appealing.

 

[PeterDonis]

How about a full molecule, with at least 2 nuclei and most of the electrons?

Speed itself has no effect on a bound system. It can't by the principle of relativity.

It's possible that a large enough acceleration could cause a molecule to break apart, but that doesn't limit the speed you can reach, it just limits the acceleration you can use to reach it.

 

[russ_watters]

Other side of the coin: since speed is relative, we/earth are already traveling at high relativistic speed in/with respect to some frames/objects.

 

[Dale]

I'm afraid that the maximum speed of travel for complex structures (like us, our robots, etc.) may be much lower than c.

There is no experimental or theoretical basis for this fear.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's not clear why this is in Relativity, but the monotomic hydrogen in the LHC has only one electron stripped and is going pretty darn fast.

If this doesn't "count", as I suspect it doesn't, we can add this thread to the list of the OP's "guess what I mean" threads.

 

[DanMP]

Speed itself has no effect on a bound system. It can't by the principle of relativity.

It's possible that a large enough acceleration could cause a molecule to break apart, but that doesn't limit the speed you can reach, it just limits the acceleration you can use to reach it.

So, if the acceleration is low enough we can reach any speed, below c, without braking apart?

I was about to ask for some estimation of this maximum acceleration and to insist about a maximum speed obtained in a particle accelerator for a molecule with only one electron missing (in order to become charged), but I realized that, at high speeds, centripetal acceleration gets very big, so it's impossible to achieve really high speeds (close to c) for molecules, here on Earth, without very large accelerations.

In this case, there is no point to continue here. Thank you for your answer!

 

[DanMP]

the monotomic hydrogen in the LHC has only one electron stripped and is going pretty darn fast

What you offered seems to be a proton, and I said:

at least 2 nuclei and most of the electrons

 

[Ibix]

So, if the acceleration is low enough we can reach any speed, below c, without braking apart?

As measured relative to an ion doing 0.9999c in an accelerator, you are doing 0.9999c. Unless you reject the principle of relativity you already have ample evidence that molecules can reach very nearly the speed of light.

 

[PeterDonis]

So, if the acceleration is low enough we can reach any speed, below c, without braking apart?

Yes.

 

[PeterDonis]

In this case, there is no point to continue here. Thank you for your answer!

You're welcome! This thread is now closed.