2007-11-25 05:55:07 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
No , the speed of light is unattainable with anything that has any mass.
Takes too long to explain.
2007-11-25 05:58:41 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its Impossible To Travel At That Speed Using Any Type Of System. It would Physically Break Up Long Before Reaching Anything Close To That Speed.
2007-11-25 16:31:58 · answer #2 · answered by JFK 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only if the gears were imaginary and not made of physical material.
For instance suppose you had a toothed gear set up on the earths equator. It would be rotating at 1000mi/hr = 0.28 mi/s. Now imagine another gear with equal radius meshed into it. A point on its circumference would travel with the same speed. But suppose you could imagine a much large gear with twice the radius. Then that point would travel at twice the speed. It is only a matter of simple calculation to determine the radius of the imaginary gear that would have a point on its circumference traveling at the speed of light 186,000 mi/s.
r= 2.65714286 Ã 10^9 miles
2007-11-25 14:27:38 · answer #3 · answered by Smiley 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There's another wee problem....
The top of a gear is moving forwards more quickly than the centre. The speed of the vehicle will be the speed of the centre of the gear...
If the centre of the gear is approaching c (speed of light) the top of the gear would be approaching speeds faster than that and is not possible!!! so even a theoretical unbreakable lightweight gear would not help.... sorry :-(
2007-11-25 14:37:12 · answer #4 · answered by Emma Jean 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If would be theoretically possible provided that the Gears would not break down from their structure and no energy loss due to friction.
In that Case the big gear would need to have a big enough size to transfer 4 x10^9 watts of mechanical power to the smaller gear in order to make rotate at the speed of light.
However; in the practical world we cannot provide such a gear ratio and also provide 4 million kilowatts of mechanical power transfer to such a large gear.
2007-11-25 14:31:23 · answer #5 · answered by goring 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No material, with the possible exception or neutronium, could possibly withstand the stresses.
Consider, however, that it is unlikely in the extreme that we are not traveling faster than the speed of light in some reference system. Of course nothing in said systems would be able to affect us, nor would we be able to detect or affect anything in those systems.
2007-11-25 14:54:02 · answer #6 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not only agreeing with troll but the gearing system would melt and fragment before it came anywhere near that speed.
2007-11-25 14:03:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.Albert Einstein was quoted that it would take all the power of all the star's in the universe to move a period (.) to the speed of light.
2007-11-25 14:11:49 · answer #8 · answered by tigger_57_2001 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, try a spaceship
2007-11-25 13:57:58 · answer #9 · answered by whitneywasere 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋