According to the current understanding of physics, particularly Special Relativity as established by Albert Einstein, the speed of light in a vacuum is the maximum speed at which information or matter can travel. This speed is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (or about 186,282 miles per second).
Quantum entanglement, a phenomenon in quantum mechanics, may at first appear to involve information transfer faster than light, but on closer examination it does not. When two quantum particles are entangled, the measurement of one immediately influences the state of the other, no matter the distance between them. However, this doesn’t allow for faster-than-light communication, because the state of the first particle can’t be controlled by the observer; it’s randomly assigned at the time of measurement. Thus, while the correlation between the particles’ states is instantaneous, this doesn’t violate the light speed limit for information transfer.
As of this writing, the idea of “tachyons” – hypothetical particles that move faster than light – has been suggested within the framework of certain theoretical physics models, but no credible evidence for their existence has been found.
Scientists also consider the concept of wormholes – shortcuts through space-time that could potentially allow faster-than-light “travel”, but again, these are purely theoretical at present and come with a host of speculative issues, including stability and negative energy.
It’s always possible that future discoveries or advances in theoretical physics might challenge or refine these concepts. But as of now, the speed of light in a vacuum is regarded as an absolute speed limit in the universe.