Can we really beat the speed of light?
There are a number of things that exceed the speed of light:


Particles in a medium such as water can enter faster than light [in that medium] but are slowed and release energy as Cherenkov radiation.
The phase velocity of a wave can exceed that of light [in that medium].
An arbitrary point, such as the point on a pair of scissors where blades,
meet, can move faster than light.
Most puzzling to me: entangled particles. Einstein called this "spooky action at a distance". Although each particle moves at C or less, information might be shared between them in an indefinitely short time; see superluminal communication. Entanglement does apply to chemistry, as do other odd quantum effects; e.g. the detection of single photons with silver halide photography as they form an interference pattern in the double-slit experiment.