Rodney <rodneyjkelly@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> If such a vehicle was capable of 1G of acceleration
> at 0.01% the speed of light, then it would be capable of 1G of
> acceleration at 99.99%. This acceleration would continue until the
> vehicle reached the speed of light, where the time dilation would be
> infinite, and time would stop.
Here's your problem -- you'll never actually reach the speed of light.
Acceleration will get you closer and closer, but you'll never actually get
there. It's like the old thought experiment of taking half the water in a
glass away, over and over again. You'll get 1/4th, then 1/8th, and so on,
but you'll never empty the glass.
Let's try a simple mathematical explanation. Take a look at this web
page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity-addition_formula#Special_Theory_of_Relativity
Just the composition law is important here, don't worry about the rest.
You can see that as you accelerate, you increase your velocity V by adding
a delta-velocity U. V anc U always start out as less than C, the speed of
light. Using the composition law, you can see that no matter how much you
velocity you add in this way, you will never reach C, let alone go past
it.
You'll get closer and closer, but you'll never actually get there.
If faster than light travel is possible (and there are good reasons why
it is probably not), normal acceleration is not going to be the way to
achieve it. Sorry.
.... ...
Remus Shepherd <remus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/remus_shepherd/
Comic: http://indepos.comicgenesis.com/
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