I build an ion-powered spacecraft. It has an Ion engine on the back, which accelerates Xenon ions electromagnetically and shunts them out the back, eventually allowing my little craft to pick up to a significant fraction of light speed after a few hundred years.
I also have a particle accelerator on my ship. It is pointing forwards. I wait until we are nearer to light speed, say 80%. I then accelerate an antiproton or a Higgs Boson or similar makeyuppyon to 30% of light speed, which I believe is possible in a linear accelerator, and fire it forwards. Why won't it be doing 110% of light speed?
I am sure my little plan is full of complex holes but am keen to know what they are (financial considerations not included).
2006-10-22 03:24:48 · 13 answers · asked by MindlessVandal 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The problem is that to a stationary (to you) observer outside of your space ship, the bean of particles will not appear to be going above the speed of light or anywhere near it. It will only appear to change its frequency. And your observation, from your viewpoint, will be that they are only going 30% of the speed of light.
The sum of speeds does not occur as your speed will only appear to you to cause a red and blue shift to the light you receive or produce due to the constant speed of light.
2006-10-22 03:36:52 · answer #1 · answered by Alan Turing 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope. That's what got Einstein going on relativity in the first place. People had measured the speed of light beams emitted from moving objects, and they were the same as light emitted from stationary objects. It didn't make sense, so he came up with relativity to explain it.
It comes down to, the makeuppyon you emit will appear to be going 30% light speed to you on the ship, but only because time is flowing at a different rate for your ship. It will still appear to be going under lightspeed to a stationary observer.
2006-10-22 05:57:24 · answer #2 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a rocket scientist.
But I have thoughts about space travel.
One thought was if light can travel at a certain speed with out any external force. Then if you added force to your rocket & continued to add force there should be no limit to your speed.
Its just that each bit more of energy you added would add less to your speed. (As you went faster each unit of energy you added would be some what less effective in increaseing your speed.)
The big problem would be what kind of fuel & how much could you carry with you. And then there is stopping which would take almost as much fuel to slow down.
You might use the atmusphere of a planet (Going in to orbit around it) but at such high speed that would be very tricky.
I would think that some time soon some one will come up with a plan to see if they can test increasing the speed of an unmaned space flight.
2006-10-22 03:52:50 · answer #3 · answered by Floyd B 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hi,
This is exactly answered by Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, basically you must consider the velocity of the particle you accelerate relative to the frame of reference in which it is travelling. So the accelerator aboard your ship is travelling at 0mph relative to its own frame of reference and relative to you which who are travelling in the same frame of reference it accelerates out of the craft at 30% of C.
Can't really explain more without going into the gory details of Relativity, hope that helps PP
2006-10-22 03:33:34 · answer #4 · answered by phoneypersona 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think its and iteresting idea with lots of potential. Poo on mr z who thinks the speed of light is a so called 'fact', the speed of light is a theory (it's 'speed' is a theoretical quatitization not a fact) if he/she/it meant to say 'There is nothing fater than light' then poo again as neutrinos go faster than light.
You could get a job writing for star trek if youcanmakeupyourown, there's nothing quite like a momentum field generator.
ps I heard worm holes was the latest for ovecomming the speed of light/mass thing.
2006-10-22 03:40:57 · answer #5 · answered by Lucsan 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Well, one likely problem is your assumption that speed increases linearly, i.e. 80% + 30% = 110%. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way as you approach the speed of light.
2006-10-22 03:38:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you use makeyuppyons then theoretically it should work. But since they are so small, they are basically of no use for shortening up your trip. and based on Newtonian physics, they would subtract speed from you ship which makes them a total lost cause. Try collapsing all points of the universe to their identical time point so you can step from one to the other?
2006-10-22 03:36:59 · answer #7 · answered by St N 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Eistein said that as you approach the speed of light you gain mass to the point that you would have infinite mass at the speed of light. But what did he know?
2006-10-22 03:33:01 · answer #8 · answered by F T 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ahh the wonders of physics..........i'm sorry i have no idea i've only just come across quarks in Alevel physics so probably not much help. Good luck xXxXx
2006-10-22 03:28:22 · answer #9 · answered by Star dust 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
send your idea to NASA I'm sure they will be able to tell if your theory will work all the best in your quest
2006-10-22 03:36:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋