300,000 Kilometers per second may seem fast but vs. the infinity scape of the universe it's like driving in the slow-lane with the brakes on. So should future Man even bother expending its greatest minds and greatest riches to achieve it? What benefits would light speed yeild humanity short of offering a one hour tour of the solar system?
2007-12-05 20:55:43 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Well, there are 2 parts.
First, the "close" universe can be quite close, meaning a few to a few tens of light years away you have dozens of stars, maybe there are habitable planets around them, we don't know yet (but it seems to be probable). Getting there and away in a lifetime is nice, you have to admit.
Second, and more importantly, the time that a traveler will feel is shorter than the time on earth, if the speed nears the speed of light. For instance, if you take a spaceship and fly at 0.999 of the speed of light to a star 100 light years away, it will take you 100 years for earth people, but you will age only 5 years or so. For that you can thank Einstein and Lorentz...
Last, even for getting around here (Mars, moon...) it helps to achieve higher velocities, it's like the difference between ships and jet planes.
So yes, we should, as the technology (which is still backwards compared to what you need) advances.
2007-12-05 23:46:55 · answer #1 · answered by Ranny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The speed of light is actually pretty slow (I mean it takes more than 4 years just to get to the nearest non-Sol star).
The real problem that we have is that we don't whether faster than light travel is possible and our best theories right now are saying NO.
The light barrier is not like the sound barrier and unlike with the sound barrier we don't have any evidence of objects actually travelling faster than light.
There are some promising loopholes in our current theories of how the universe works which might allow for travel faster than light but whether they'll actually work out is another matter. We really need a theory of quantum gravity and we don't quite have one yet.
But don't worry, it's quite possible to do interstellar flight without going faster than light, you just have to be prepared to spend a few decades on a starship (and future medical technology should give people much longer lifespans).
2007-12-05 21:03:28 · answer #2 · answered by bestonnet_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes of course, to discover the mysteries of the universe. Learning how to fly on light speed is important. But I heard that there is such thing as infinite speed, but the study on it is still ongoing and is still in its infancy. Why should people learn how to go on light speed? Because there are many interesting stuff to find in outer space like dark energy, dark matter. There are lots of resources you could find in asteroids and in other planets. So it would help mankind improve. Making first- contact with other intelligent species in outer space would be interesting. But I think that would be dangerous, because they might be hostile.
2007-12-05 21:51:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
even I think that man is really doing an awkward thing by trying to experiment on the speed of light. but time may tell us of some benefits.
2007-12-05 21:31:17 · answer #4 · answered by champscience 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drive your car. Slow down. Slow even more down. More! What? You are stopped? Well slow even more! No, not by driving back, it is still speed; I want you to move slower than stopped!
Impossible, isn't it? Well, fermions and bosons and all particles we know of can't move faster than the speed of the light just like you can move slower than full stop. It is as simple as that, although admittedly more difficult to test in real life.
2007-12-05 22:54:25 · answer #5 · answered by Michel Verheughe 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
if there is even a hint that breaking the speed of light is possible yes would should try to move in that area
last time i checked its just a theory , not solid proof as of yet, that breaking it is unattainable
if its solid proof , and its deemed we cannot break the speed of light we should discard space travel and focus on what we have here on earth and just "be" .
2007-12-06 00:05:44 · answer #6 · answered by give me TRUTH 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
SURE THEY SHOULD ! AND THOSE GREAT MINDS NEED TO HURRY IT UP TOO.AS FOR THE DRIVING IN THE SLOW LANE WITH THE BRAKES ON.WHEATHER RIDING BARE BACK ON A DONKEY, OR DOG POWER, ON A SLED. IT BEATS WALKING. AND TIME, THAT CAN BE LOST BY WALKING.AS FOR THE BENIFITS,BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT, THERE ARE MORE RICHES IN GASES AND METALS, OUT THERE THEN ALL THE PLATINUM AND GOLD HERE ON EARTH!
2007-12-05 21:13:41 · answer #7 · answered by GETX2 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
a lot of basic science will be discovered by just DOING THAT. i think we should always strive for something better, and i'm sure one day mankind will acheive speeds greater than the speed of light.
2007-12-05 21:01:11 · answer #8 · answered by John 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
well, you should know that going light speed will not only make you go "faster" it will make everything change and grow LARGER also. who knows what new vistas that will open up? i think the future trick is simply jumping past space, or even simply "shifting" or even just doppelgangers of us. so many strange things are coming up, "going fast" might be a moot point.
2007-12-05 21:00:11 · answer #9 · answered by wolffromthenothing 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
In a word NO! we cant stop accidents with people travelling 60mph - imagine the amount of accidents with loads of people travelling at the speed of light!!!!
2007-12-05 20:59:37 · answer #10 · answered by lisa 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋