Exceeding speed of light idea.

[apeZ]

For a while now, I have been toying with the idea of travelling at, or faster than the speed of light...

Every single physics teacher I have spoken to has said it is impossible, but I wondered whether OCUK think this idea would work.

Ok.

For the sake of simplicity, I am using smaller measurements for the length, i.e. 100 metres in the diagram would be something like 10,000 miles or so in reality.

The idea works like this: put an object that is travelling at 1/3 the speed of light, which in turn is upon another object travelling at 1/3 the speed of light. (These speeds can be reached with a lot of force).

The combination of the speeds mean that the object on top is travelling at the speed of light (1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3). I have provided a simple paint diagram to show this.




I realise that a lot of force would be required to reach something like 1/3 the speed of light, but there is no reason we cannot do it in increments of 1/10 or even 1/100.

What do you guys think?

 

[apeZ]

But surely the item on the top is travelling at the speed of light proportional to the ground (which is immobile). It is only travelling at 1/3 the speed of light to the object underneath it (which is also moving at 1/3 the speed of light).

 

[apeZ]

That they'll be doing no more than 0.3333333c

Then look at it like 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4

= 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 = 1.0

 

[apeZ]

Isn't it a case it's impossible to travel at the speed of light, or it'd require an unfeasible amount of energy, but faster is probably er, an ok idea.

Yes, that is why you accelerate the objects individually, at speeds that can be reached.

 

[apeZ]

remember though if the second one is accelerating by pushing on the one below it will be accelerating it backwards at 1/3 the speed of light.

so in your example the bottom two would stay still and the top one would fly off at 1/3 the speed of light.

Hm, I see your point :/

Art, I'm assuming zero friction and 'stupendously long objects'.

 

[apeZ]

Back to physics 101 for you

Would now be a good time to mention that I'm doing A-level physics?

 

[apeZ]

if you have zero friction, then you have nothing to accelerate against

I hate physics sometimes.

 

[apeZ]

Yes, that is why you accelerate the objects individually, at speeds that can be reached.

You said

Isn't it a case it's impossible to travel at the speed of light, or it'd require an unfeasible amount of energy, but faster is probably er, an ok idea.

If you tried to accerate one object, yes it would require an unfeasible amount of energy because you would need an equal and opposite force in the opposite direction.

However, if you accelerate objects individually (as in my diagram below, they are each at 1/3 speed of light), the amount of energy required becomes a bit more realised (1/3, no, but 1/10000 or so ).

Hope that clears it up.

 

[apeZ]

But by your diagram, the objects are attached to each other?

They are on top of eachother. Think of it as like running along a moving platform. Relative to the IMMOBILE ground, you are travelling faster than you are running, if that makes sense.

You run at 5 mph, platform moves at 5 mph, you are moving at 10 mph relative to the ground.

 

[apeZ]

What I want to know is, what makes light so bloody fast in the first place?

It has no mass.

 

[apeZ]

Never mind, forgot to refresh.

 

[apeZ]

theoretically the only way to travel faster than the speed of light is to bend spacetime

Any idea how I can do this?

 

[apeZ]

snip

Made me laugh actually