was einstein wrong?

Question

I do not see how objects attain infinite mass at the speed of light: the speed of light is not infinite, because 186,000 cannot be multiplied to reach infinity. Therefore, common sense would dictate that it cannot attain infinite mass. Why is this?

Answer 1

first off the speed of light is infiinite
because the closer an object gets to it, the slower everything around it is
its the relativistic affect
as it gets more and more massive, it continues to slow down, infinitely going towards the speed of light, but eventually it will be increasing its speed so little that everything else would seem to have just stopped in place. if you have any more questions email me at [e-mail]

Answer 2

I seriously doubt that Einstein was wrong. His equations have stood over 100 years of advanced technical experiments that seem to validate the results every time they're put to the test.
The theory that mass would become infinite if it were to attain the speed of light is derived from his equation for kinetic energy. It is simply an equation which has the square root of 1-(V^2/C^2) as the denominator. As V approaches C, the energy increases greatly, and if V=C, then the energy becomes MC^2 divided by zero. Since the equation has proved to be absolutely correct when mass is accelerated to near the speed of light, there is no reason to believe it would suddenly be incorrect at the speed of light - which would clearly indicate an infinite amount of energy - and remember, mass and energy are equivalent.

Answer 3

It's not infinite speed, it's just is the speed limit of the universe. Look up the Lorentz mass transformations to see where the infinity part comes in (hint - there's a 1/(1-v^2/c^2), and the v^2/c^2 get very close to one as v gets very close to c, which means that the denominator goes to zero so the entire equation goes to infinity).

Answer 4

Was Einstein wrong or are you wrong? Now, let me think...

The point is that it is NOT the actuall speed of light that matters but the fact that everyone gets the same value for it, even if they are moving with respect to one another. This may not seem intuitive, but it is the result of experiment and NOT an outcome of relativity (in fact, it is one of the axioms relativity is built on).

This must mean that speeds do not add as you expect as you reach the speed of light, otherwise you could simply add your speed to that of a photon. And this means as you try to accelerate something close to the speed of light the energy must go somewhere other than into more speed (ie more kinetic energy). And the answer is that that energy goes into mass.

Answer 5

And how many objects are there that actually approach light speed? Not many? Well, that is because it would take an infinite amount of energy. That's why only sub atomic particles can be accelerated to anything close to light speed.

Answer 6

That is precisely why we cannot reach the speed of light. It has been mathematically proven. Einstein said that we would theoretically reach infinite mass at the speed of light, but we can never get that fast.

Answer 7

E=mc^2

if the object is moving at the speed of light, then the energy would be = to the speed of light, right? so then we have...

c=mc^2

then you divide the c^2 to get the mass, then simplify, and have...

1/c=m

which means that the mass has decreased,when relativity tells us that the volume should decrease, and the mass should increase when we accelerate, it simply doesn't make sense.

Answer 8

Beacsue you don't understand relativity, not even a little bit. Take a look at the Lorentz relationships and you will understand — assuming you're not a total idiot, which may be assuming too much.

Q.E.D.

Answer 9

Please see this page - it explains Special Relativity much better than I cound, and provides the answer to your question.

(And NO, this is NOT E=mc^2, it's the other equation...)

Answer 10

man you are smart you tell me.