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Travel faster than the speed of light?

post #1 of 18
5/13/09 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
I was on Digg and came across an article about the possibility of traveling faster than the speed of light in a bubble. In that article the person states that the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light.

Here's the URL for the article in case your are interested: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Dye...7571063&page=1

One of the comments on that article was a question:

Quote:
If the Universe is expanding at a rate in excess of the speed of light, then from the perspective of an object/planet/star at the edge of the Universe, we are already traveling in excess of the speed of light in the opposite direction (per the theory of relativity). If this is the case, then why is our mass not increasing to infinity and/or why isn't the mass of the objects at the "edge" of the universe increasing to "infinity" which would (of course) exceed the current mass of the universe itself?

I think this is a great question. Why isn't our mass increasing? Would it be because we are also in a "bubble" of sorts?
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post #2 of 18
5/13/09 at 4:32pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Shultzaberger
I think this is a great question. Why isn't our mass increasing?
Despite my best efforts, my mass is increasing. I am up to 250lbs.
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post #3 of 18
5/14/09 at 11:03am

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Shultzaberger
Why isn't our mass increasing? Would it be because we are also in a "bubble" of sorts?

According to Einstein's theory of relativity the effects of approaching the speed of light such as increase in mass, slowing of time, and length contraction are as measured by the "stationary" observer.

If the measurements of mass, time and length were measured by an observer traveling the same speed in the same direction then none of these effects would be observed.

Theory of relativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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post #4 of 18
5/14/09 at 12:43pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Ironic that finding ways to travel the speed of light may well involve techniques of slowing down.
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post #5 of 18
5/14/09 at 3:03pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Taylor
According to Einstein's theory of relativity the effects of approaching the speed of light such as increase in mass, slowing of time, and length contraction are as measured by the "stationary" observer.

If the measurements of mass, time and length were measured by an observer traveling the same speed in the same direction then none of these effects would be observed.

Theory of relativity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But it sounds like we're talking about a case of moving in the *opposite* direction.
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post #6 of 18
5/14/09 at 4:23pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman
But it sounds like we're talking about a case of moving in the *opposite* direction.

A basic principle of the theory of relativity is that any object in the Universe may be designated as a zero velocity reference point to measure the relative velocity of all other objects. The relativity formulas will apply no matter which reference point in the Universe you choose to be designated as zero velocity.

No matter where you are in our Universe you will observe distant galaxies moving away from you. The farther away they are the closer to the speed of light they will appear to be moving away from you.

So in your example we are moving away from a central point and an object at the other end of the Universe is moving away from the same point in the opposite direction. To give you an idea of how traditional thinking vs. relativistic thinking works out here's an example:

Suppose we are moving at 99% the speed of light in one direction and an object at the other end of the Universe is moving the opposite direction at 99% the speed of light. Using formulas from classical mechanics we would observe the object at the other end of the Universe to be moving at 198% the speed of light. By enhancing these formulas with relativity the speed would be only about 99.9949% the speed of light.

So which formula is correct? So far almost all experiments to verify this have confirmed Einstein's formulas of relativity. There are exceptions when you start throwing in Black Holes and other unusual phenomena that we keep finding or have theorized to exist in the Universe. There are other theories and formulas that refine or replace Einstein's formulas. The debate and the refinement will no doubt continue beyond all of our lifetimes.

The basic relativity formulas are at the link below. Scroll down to "Speed contraction:" to see the formula that applies to the above example. By designating the speed of light "c" as "1" it makes the formula easier to calculate. Your answer will then be in terms of 1 as the speed of light.

After plugging in the numbers you should get the velocity of our example as .9999494975 light speed. Note: The web page at the link below includes a built in calculating tool to enter numbers. It will not allow you to simplify our example by designating c=1. My numbers were derived using the formula outside of the web page on a calculator.

Basics of Relativity
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post #7 of 18
5/14/09 at 7:49pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Jay, I share you're propensity to spell "Universe" with an upper-case U. However, I confess that I do this only when referring to OUR Universe. All the other universes can go hang themselves.
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post #8 of 18
5/14/09 at 9:26pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

I want to change universes to the one with the new Uhura.
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post #9 of 18
5/14/09 at 9:29pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

You're not her type. Too human.
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post #10 of 18
5/15/09 at 5:28am

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

So I guess we'll have to settle for a green Orion slave girl.
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post #11 of 18
5/17/09 at 4:36pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

I thin I saw one of those on Craigslist, but she only does massages...
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post #12 of 18
5/17/09 at 5:06pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Not on craigslist anymore.

After Boston murder, Craigslist drops erotic services ads - The Boston Globe
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post #13 of 18
5/18/09 at 2:55pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Time after time it keeps happening. Every thread about Einstein's theory of relativity quickly evolves into a thread about hookers on Craigslist.
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post #14 of 18
5/18/09 at 4:50pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

There's got to be an Internet Law for that.
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post #15 of 18
5/18/09 at 7:48pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Taylor
Time after time it keeps happening. Every thread about Einstein's theory of relativity quickly evolves into a thread about hookers on Craigslist.
I'm sorry, Einstein's what, now? When was that?
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post #16 of 18
5/20/09 at 6:39am

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Haha...not often I laugh out loud reading a forum about the speed of light. You guys are the best!

Oh...and BTW dont forget that the speed of light is not constant, it has been slowing down.
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post #17 of 18
5/20/09 at 3:02pm

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott McGillivray
Oh...and BTW dont forget that the speed of light is not constant, it has been slowing down.

So does that mean less hookers or what?
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post #18 of 18
5/21/09 at 10:06am

Re: Travel faster than the speed of light?

Okay, just to be serious for a moment... I scrolled back up and finally read the referenced article. Fascinating stuff: warp drive, wormholes, quantum foam, universal expansion/inflation, colliding membranes, big bangs, and someone named John Schwartz.

Best article on hookers I've ever read.
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