why is it that when we travel through space at the speed of light for a year and return back a year later then everyone back on earth would b dead
2006-07-06 10:57:08 · 4 answers · asked by joyenergizeruk 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
(1) you would be dead. To get to the speed of light, you'd have to accelerate so hard and for so long that you'd be toothpaste on the rear wall of your ship's cabin.
(2) I think you need to work on the duration and the speed. If you travel at light speed, your time relative to everyone else's time is stationary. When you come back a year later (in your time), everyone would be exactly the same age as when you set out. Only you would be older. If you travel faster than light, they get younger. At least I think that's how it works
(3) When you get to light speed, your body mass would become infinite, you'd undergo gravitational collapse and become a black hole. You're not coming back, dead or otherwise.
2006-07-06 11:05:28 · answer #1 · answered by wild_eep 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read the link from NASA. I dont think if you travel at the speed of light for a year and return back after a year ( you've covered 2 light year distance and spent 2 years in space), you are certainly not going to see everyone dead. They might certainly appear older than you because Einsteins theory states that time slows down for people who travel close to the speed of light. But this is a very debatable topic and there is lot of speculation involved. Anyway.. hope this helps.
2006-07-06 11:14:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
hmmm... accelerating you to the speed of light would suck up all the energy in the universe.. so everyone here on earth would die from cold.
ok... I think you got it wrong... really.... not everyone would be dead.. just all of the people that you knew.. because for you the time passed would be one year (or two years if you went out for a year and back for a year) but your time would be dialated because of your speed.. while the time here on earth would not be dialated and would pass normally (or.. time would pass much more slowly for you than for people on earth)
2006-07-06 11:02:04 · answer #3 · answered by ♥Tom♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Time slows the faster you travel so your year is a much greater time for the stationary observer. An astronaut who has been in orbit comes back milliseconds younger than his twin.
2006-07-06 11:05:36 · answer #4 · answered by williegod 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋