🚀 go-pugleaf

On Wed, 4 Dec 1996, Jonathan wrote:

> That's a good question.  Not sure why it's posted to this group but
> I've wondered that myself.  somebody please elaborate.
> 
> -jonathan

> Charles Han <ds...@pop.erols.com> wrote:
>
[snip]
> >apparent that, as an object approaches lightspeed, its mass approaches
> >infinity.  Doesn't the Law of Conservation of Matter prohibit any gain
> >or loss of mass?


Well, I'm no astrophysicist, but from what I've been taught and actually 
understand, an object really gains _matter_ (which is what I think you 
are thinking 'mass' means) as it 
approaches the speed of light, but it does gain _mass_.  That is, you 
don't get bigger, but your atoms 'weigh' more.  Maybe I'm totally off, 
but I believe it has more to do with the increasing energy needs to 
accelerate an object as its mass increases (ie. more mass = more inertia 
(ie. resistance to a change in motion) = more energy needed to accelerate 
the object).  You would, theoretically, need an infinite amout of energy 
to accelerate any material object to the speed of light. The Law of 
Conservation of Matter states, roughly, that 
matter (& energy) can't be created nor destroyed.  It does not, however, 
say that the mass of that matter is constant.

What makes it so hard to grasp, in my opinion, is that we're so used to 
our little view of the universe.  It just seems ludicrous that time 
should slow down the faster you go and that you should gain more mass as 
well.

I hope I've shed a little light on the subject.  I'd be interested in 
further discussion, but perhaps this particular newsgroup isn't the place 
for it.

_______________________________________________________________________________

							-= Don Dueck =-

	It is by will alone I set my mind in motion...