This stuff is crazy. The closer to the speed of light you are, the more time slows down. So if you were on a spaceship going near the speed of light and you were gone for a few years, when you came back to earth everyone that you knew would have already died a long time ago.

Also, the closer to the center of gravity you are, the slower time goes. 1 year at the center of the earth would go by slower than one year on the surface of the earth. Even where you live makes a difference, although minute. Technically, someone who lived at the top of a skyscraper would have time go back slightly slower than someone who lives in a 1 story house. This would mean that if the two people both lived to be exactly 70, the person who lived in the skyscraper would live slightly longer (in this case, probably nanoseconds at the most).

According to our laws of physics, if we were ever to achieve going FASTER than the speed of sound, time would actually go in reverse. We could, in fact, "travel back in time".

I'm sure most of you already knew about this but it still amazes me.

Yup. I knew about it and it is cool. Too bad we will never experience such a thing for multiple reasons.
No material we know of or have can survive light speed.
Our naked bodies couldn't survive light speed.
We don't have anything to propel us at light speed.

Unless we get dematerialized into tiny particles and ejected. That would be cool.

Not only is there no known material, but according to Einstein nothing with a mass can travel the speed of light.

However, if we were able to approach close to the speed of light (which may be possible in the distant future...don't ask me how), then we could still feel the effects of speeding up time.

If you approach the speed of light any energy potential that would have been used to exceed the speed of light gets converted into matter, that's why you "slow down," your inertia increases.

Different positions on the earth will only change ones angular kinematics, it wouldn't have any effect on their age.

Well...time slows down at higher velocities and mass increases as speed does (e = mc^2) that explains it (no really it does lol). Also standing on a skyscraper for your entire life wouldn't even give you 1 nanosecond more, perhaps 1*10^-18 lol...and if you were to attain the speed of light (not sound...we can surpass that, you meant the speed of light probably), time would not go in reverse -- time would just stop for you. But yes, I agree with you fascination, I really love this stuff too lol, even though its pretty useless. XD

According to our laws of physics, it's impossible to go faster than the speed of light. It's even quite easy to prove
Well, imagine you are in a space ship, going near the speed of light. In your frame of reference, the earth is moving at your 'travelling'-speed, while you are standing still. You'll die while guys on earth had lunch. Just to confuse you
By getting faster, you'll even get smaller


€:


lol'd

@BovineDesi: It's not useless

This post was edited by Lampee on Dec 10 2008 04:26pm

When I speak of age, it's all relative. If two people both live to be 70, but one is traveling at closer to the speed of light then when compared to the person not traveling at close to the speed of light, he/she would appear to live "longer".

Obviously, to make this work you have to use Earth or some other relatively "constant" speed as the basis for comparision.

@BovineDesi: Yeah I meant light...I don't know why I typed that lol.

I thought that equation proved it.

Erm, trying to remember it from physics. Can't remember it...

But I remember there was a part of it that was 1 minus the speed of light squared over velocity squared. So basically when velocity = c, that part becomes 1-1 which = 0. And dividing by zero means that it's undefined.

I'll try and find the equation...



That one I think it was. So when v is equal to c (the speed of light), you're dividing by zero...

This post was edited by Vio-Lewis on Dec 10 2008 04:29pm

Yes, at exactly the speed of light time would stop. However, if you were able to go FASTER than the speed of light, time (in comparison to things not going faster than the speed of light) would go in reverse.

doesnt make sense