How is is it I can jump from here on earth, to say M81, and not age??? Or better, only age a bit.... you see my point? I guess I'm really confussed about the time "part" of e=mc2
2006-10-30 16:36:57 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
No matter how fast you travel towards M81 (..or anywhere else) you will age EXACTLY as you would if you'd stayed home. For you, time passes precisely as it always has. The trick comes in when we start talking about people left behind on Earth while you go zipping around the galaxy. If these folks could somehow watch a clock on your spaceship they'd see it moving slower than their own clocks. If you could look back and see their clocks, they'd be moving faster. So, whose clock shows the correct time? Both of them! Time is relative.
The above phenomenon is not just a theory either--it's been proven to be an actual effect by countless careful and very precise experiments.
All this comes down to showing that there's no such NATURAL feature of the universe as time. Time is nothing more than a human invention used to separate events. In other words, there's no such thing as absolute time, no Cosmic Master Clock against which all other clocks must be compared. Time is relative.
2006-10-30 17:25:53 · answer #1 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, if you travel with the speed exceeding speed of light, you'll go back in the past (according to the static observer on Earth). This will be like they will first see you at M81 and then eventually closer and closer up to the moment you start from Earth. this has nothing to do with e=mc2, this is relativistic mechanics.
2006-10-30 16:45:51 · answer #2 · answered by mouse_tail_0 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is no "time part" of E=MC2. This is the relation of rest mass to energy.
You will age - and your perceived time will pass exactly the same as on earth. Despite the fact that, relative to earth, your clock, and all physical phenomenon right down to the molecular lavels, will be considerable slowed.
The time and age difference is only apparent when you return - and make comparisons.
2006-10-30 16:48:06 · answer #3 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That other answer is not quite right. Einstein himself stated nothing can travel faster than light. The thing is... analyzing what happens to a light watch in movement, Einstein concluded time expands as you travel faster and faster. This means that if you travel close to the speed of light, time is still the same for you, but for a static observer (here on Earth prolly) it is faster. So, the conclusion is that people on Earth age faster than you do 'cause time is universal and independently relative to each one of us. If you wanna understand it really well i truly recommend watching the segment about relative theory on Encarta. It's really well-explained. It's like Einstein's theories for housewives. Check it!
2006-10-30 16:53:21 · answer #4 · answered by Horumaket 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you speak of time dilation, I believe you speak of the lorenz factor.
Basically, the faster you go, the more mass you gain, and the slower time passes for you.
2006-10-30 16:56:12 · answer #5 · answered by John T 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋