travelling forward in time

[imamartian]

on the tv earlier, they were talking about time travel... and saying that if a train were to travel round the planet at a speed of 7 times round Earth per second (i.e. almost the speed of light), time would slow down inside the train.... they said that the reason time would slow down is because physics says that if a young girl were to get up and run down the train, she could, inadvertently be travelling faster then the speed of light .. which as we know is impossible.

However, what it the girl was on a motorbike in the train? ok, so probably not gonna make a difference? but what if somehow, the girl was on the train travelling at 99.9% the speed of light, but within that train, on another train travelling at 99.9% of the speed of light?

how does time know just how much to slow down?

 

[StaticPhilly]

but if your inside the train, then the light inside the train is also traviling at the same speed so its just normal?

i could be wrong, always been crap at this

i read your post about 10x trying to understand it tho

 

[imamartian]

from what i can tell, it's the speed you (or the girl) is travelling, not the light in your space ship (or train)... you're on a bus doing 50mph, and you walk down the bus at 4mph, you're doing 54mph?

 

[StaticPhilly]

so.... what we are trying to work out is,

if we travel faster then light then time would slow, how would time tell how slow to go?

maybe it depends how much faster then light we are going...

i dont have a clue

 

[imamartian]

Einstein says you can't go any faster than the speed of light!!

 

[joe-90]

on the tv earlier, they were talking about time travel...

I missed it. If I put the TV in the car and drive round the block 7 times - will it still be on?

 

[sooey]

from what i can tell, it's the speed you (or the girl) is travelling, not the light in your space ship (or train)... you're on a bus doing 50mph, and you walk down the bus at 4mph, you're doing 54mph?

With reference to the bus you would be doing 4 mph.

 

[imamartian]

With reference to the bus you would be doing 4 mph.

...relative to the bus, but realtive to Earth? 54mph? And relative to the Sun, about 50000mph?

 

[StaticPhilly]

ok ok... now you have me wondering, what would it accually look like if you were to travel that fast? lines? bits of images? (that would be strange)

i cant see why we cant travel at that speed if we could invent somthing capable of reaching it, but, would parts start falling off our body threw the forces? or would the accelaration be the only part of those forces so once your at a settled speed the effects stop.

cant get my head round why it would effect time tho, cant see the connection...

 

[imamartian]

ok ok... now you have me wondering, what would it accually look like if you were to travel that fast? lines? bits of images? (that would be strange)

i cant see why we cant travel at that speed if we could invent somthing capable of reaching it, but, would parts start falling off our body threw the forces? or would the accelaration be the only part of those forces so once your at a settled speed the effects stop.

cant get my head round why it would effect time tho, cant see the connection...

if you're in a train, then the air around you would be travelling at the same speed...

 

[joinerjohn]

It's all relative really.
As you approach the speed of light, time slows down. If you then run forward (relative to the direction of travel) time slows down even more to compensate. To an observer travelling at the same speed the slowing down wouldn't be noticeable.
Let's imagine two observers approaching each other at 99% of the speed of light on parallel paths. As soon as they pass each other then they both think the other has ceased to exist, as they are now travelling away from each other at more than the speed of light (relative to each other)

 

[conny]

If you were travelling faster than the speed of light would you be in darkness as the light would not be able to reach you?

Also, if someone where to try and photograph you as you passed them they would fail, as a seond later you would be 186,000 miles away and out of focus!

 

[StaticPhilly]

its to late to be thinking this hard!

ok as for what you would see, would you not just see whats in front of you but in the future? compaired to what it should be? or would it not of even been produced? or would it be light left from the past?

so does that mean you go back in time or in the future?

 

[sooey]

You'd see stars going past like streaks...





it was on startrek.

 

[imamartian]

funnily enough, that's what the tv show showed tongiht, but that's not true is it? our nearest neighbour (alpha centauri) id about 4 light years away, so travelling at the speed of light, it would take four years to get there....

so they're hardly flashing past you !!