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Article #353303

Re: Lightspeed constant...

#353303
From: cam... Campbell
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 1996 00:00
62 lines
4123 bytes
In <SHESS.96N...@howard.one.net> sh...@one.net (Scott Hess)
writes: 
>
>In article <569rgm$f...@bigboote.WPI.EDU>,
>	rasm...@paramount.res.wpi.edu (Frank Sweetser) writes:
>   : Chris (coop...@cf.ac.uk) wrote:
>deleted

pi or e.  You _cannot_ go faster than the speed of
>light while remaining in our universe.  Almost by definition, if you
>are going faster than the speed light travels in our universe, then
>you are _not_ in our universe.  [To quickly stop certain types of
>responses, if you use a "wormhole" to instantaneously go from "here"
>to "there", you are not in our universe.  You got from "here" to
>"there" faster than light could have, but you did not take the path
>light would have taken.  Likewise if you do things like time travel or
>whatnot.  "Faster than the speed of light" means that you got from
>"here" to "there" before light would have, using the same path.  As
>you can see, saying "travel faster than the speed of light" also
>implies certain definitions for "travel".]
>
>To be even more specific, back when the speed of sound was fast, all
>velocity and acceleration equations worked fine past the speed of
>sound.  It's just that nobody figured you could actually ever _go_
>that fast.  They could still figure out what accelerations would be
>necessary to push a given mass past the speed of sound, at least in
>theory.  None of our equations work if you use velocities faster than
>the speed of light.  If you use velocities faster than the speed of
>light, the results of the equations _aren't_ consistent with arriving
>at your destination before light would have by the same path.
>
>This isn't really a matter of opinion.  To prove that you can't go
>faster than the speed of light, I don't have to opine that your
>vehicle will fall apart, or your mind cannot take it, or that there's
>no mechanical means to connect enough engines, or anything like that.
>I can just prove that YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE!  You could take
>_all_ the mass in our universe, convert every last particle to energy
>(for maximum boost) and shoot it all in one direction - and you still
>will not manage to accelerate yourself to light speed.  The problem is
>that the amount of acceleration to add a given amount of velocity
>increases exponentially to infinity.
>
>In some very basic, essential sense, if you ever find yourself going
>"faster than the speed of light in our universe", you will also find
>that you are indeed not in our universe.
>
>[I had a roomate who once would start a conversation with something
>like "But let's say you _could_ go faster than the speed of light."
>How can you start a conversation by invoking magic?  I just wonder why
>people so seldom say things like "What if pi was exactly 3.5?" or
>"What if e was 3.1415926...?" or "What if i was not imaginary?"]
>
>Sigh,
>--
>scott hess <sh...@one.net>     (606) 578-0412     
http://w3.one.net/~shess/
><I plan to become so famous that people buy tapes of me reading source
code>
--------------------------------(You have to write SoooOOO famous)
Good writing heah.  You are very clear, and they are stupid babies.
>From a pest
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References: <569rgm$fu1@bigboote.WPI.EDU> <SHESS.96Nov12094002@howard.one.net>

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From: cam...@ix.netcom.com(A. Campbell)
Subject: Re: Lightspeed constant...
Date: 1996/11/14
Message-ID: <56dut6$8o0@dfw-ixnews7.ix.netcom.com>
X-Deja-AN: 196337835
references: <569rgm$fu1@bigboote.WPI.EDU> <SHESS.96Nov12094002@howard.one.net>
organization: Netcom
x-netcom-date: Wed Nov 13  8:07:34 PM CST 1996
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