Is this correct logic regarding Relativity and near speed of light travel?

Question

Imagine person A and person B are looking at a clock several light years away. They both have a stopwatch in hand and start it at the same time. Person B goes toward the clock at an extremely high velocity. He is going to see the clock change before person A becuase the light waves will reach him first. Eventually person B will see the clock read several minutes ahead of what person A reads it. If they both look at their stopwatches the same amount of time has elapsed. So it seems to person B that the things he observes are moving faster then what person A observes. Time IS relative and not absolute.

Is this an OK explanation or am I way off in my logic?

Answer 1

The logic is accurate, but it is not relativity. The same would be true if the clocks were observed using sonar and sound waves.

Relativity is not simply about observation.

Answer 2

If v(A) <<<< v(B) and v(B) --> c but v(A) does not; observer A will see the outside clock advance at its usual rate; time dilation is not apparent. However, as observer B is approaching the speed of light and as the clock is outside the observer's space ship and, therefore, not traveling at that great velocity, B will see the clock speed up.

Or relatively speaking (which is why it's called relativity) observer B's on board clock will start to lose time relative to that outside one. So you are correct, A thinks the outside clock is just fine thank you, but B thinks it's running fast.

Time dilation has been proved experimentally; so it's more than just a theory. Your logic is good...go be a physicist.

Answer 3

Person B would see the universe around him moving faster, while time inside his head would seem to be moving at the same speed it always has, and since he would be significantly closer to the clock he would see it change before Person A.

However, if person B travels at a high enough speed, his stopwatch will actually run slower than person A's stopwatch. So, when Person B stops moving, the two stopwatches will no longer be in synch.

This is part of Einstein's general theory of relativity, and has been proven correct in experiments conducted by (I think) NASA.

Answer 4

I am not the expert, but it will be agreed that the thing that IS absolute is the speed of light from all observers. The one who accelerates at a high rate of speed will see the time on the clock ahead of him because the light rays will reach him sooner, but his clock in his hand will tick slower than the other traveler. This is because in order for both observers to see light travel at the same speed, one must neccessarily exist in a state of slower time. When you travel 35 MPH and someone passes you at 45MPH a speed gun in your hand would clock the passing car at 10MPH. If you are traveling 10 MPH short of the speed of light and a photon passes you your speed gun will read the full speed of light. This is only possible because your acceleration has caused time to change.

Answer 5

Keep in mind there is no such thing as a 'true' speed or velocity. All velocity is relative. If the spaceship were going at velocity X relative to the Earth, that is how fast people on Earth wouuld see it going, regardless of what direction it was going in. However, both the people on Earth AND the people in the spaceship would see the others as being squeezed in the direction of the spaceship's travel, and experiencing time more slowly.