Tagged Questions

0
votes
3answers
109 views

Stuff can't go at the speed of light - in relation to what? [duplicate]

We all know that stuff can't go faster than the speed of light - it's length becomes negative and all kinds of weird stuff happens. However, this is in relation to what? If two objects, each moving ...
1
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4answers
176 views

What is the exact mechanism by which time dilates?

What is the exact mechanism by which time dilates for a fast moving object? Can the time dilation be explained by any theory other than relativity?
4
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1answer
57 views

Relativity of simultaneity - An example

I am trying to understand the relativity of simultaneity in different frames, and I am trying to work out an example. Suppose along the x-axis there are two points 2000m apart. Event A happens at t=0 ...
1
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3answers
89 views

Special Relativity - speed of light question

Just a basic question: I know that if you are traveling at $x$ speed the time will pass for you slower than to an observer that is relatively stopped. That's all just because a photon released at the ...
2
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3answers
182 views

If time slows down when you move faster, does this give you an “effective speed” different from your proper speed?

Suppose you're travelling at 0.9c toward the sun, and you tag past the Earth and start a clock. Would Lorentz contraction/time dilation cause you to get to the sun faster than (about) 9 minutes ...
0
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1answer
106 views

What is the maximum time dilation between two objects, if one is standing still and the other is moving at $c$?

What is the maximum ratio in the rate of change in time in reference to object $A$ which is standing still and object $B$ which is moving at the speed of light?
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4answers
202 views

The bigger the mass, the more time slows down. Why is this?

If I were to stand by a pyramid, which weighs about 20 million tons, I would slow down by a trillion million million million of second. Don't know if that's exactly right, but you get the point. Also, ...
1
vote
1answer
171 views

Does the increase of (relativistic) mass, while flying near speed of light, has any impact on astronauts? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Would travelling at relativistic speeds have any impact on human biology? I am asking myself this question for a few day. What is the answer on: Does the increase of ...
0
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1answer
135 views

Does photon possesses no time to cover any arbitrary distance?

Photon travel 8 minutes (with speed $c$) from the sun to reach the earth. Any particle (or space-ship) with velocity $0.99 c$ covers the same distance (93 millions km) within less than 2 minutes ...
12
votes
2answers
280 views

What does a sphere moving close to the speed of light look like?

What shape does the viewer in a reference frame with $v=0$ perceive? I suppose that since the sphere moves in one direction only (oX only, not oY) its section would change into an ellipse, where the ...
0
votes
3answers
149 views

Time slowing down problem

When someone moves, time slows down for him. Let, a man standing still and another moving very very very fast, this happens for an hour (as measured by the standing man). Time has moved slower for the ...
2
votes
1answer
253 views

Time dilation - why the observers see each other the slow one but then one of them is older or younger?

I'm in trouble with time dilation: Suppose that there's two people on the Earth (A,B), they are twins and each other has a clock. (So they are at the same reference frame). B travels in a spaceship ...
1
vote
1answer
194 views

What is the speed for an object that travel close to the speed of light?

I have some questions regarding Einsteins theory of Relativity that should be fairly easy to answer. Lets say we make an experiment where we have a rocket (with an astronaut inside) that travels very ...
-1
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3answers
166 views

Does the Lorentz transformation not apply to light?

Since you would know that light always travels at the constant velocity with respect to all frame of reference ....according to relativity whenever we are traveling at speed of light our time with ...
0
votes
1answer
151 views

What is the difference between observer, frame of reference, and gauge?

It seems to me that there is considerable relationship between the three concepts: frame of reference, observer, and gauge. How do they overlap? My current understanding is that an observer with a ...
-1
votes
1answer
167 views

Time dilation at the speed of light

Does a massless particle travelling at the speed on light in a vacuum (c) experience an infinite time dilation effect? i.e. Would the time dilation extend from the perspective of the massless ...
6
votes
8answers
2k views

Would time freeze if you can travel at the speed of light?

I read with interest about Einstein's Theory of Relativity and his proposition about the speed of light being the speed limit for anything with mass. So, if I were ...
4
votes
2answers
131 views

Effect of gravity at near-lightspeeds

Let's say I'm in a space station, hurtling towards our galaxy nearly close to the speed of light. From my reference frame, I see the galaxy coming towards my ship at the same speed. I pass the Sun, ...
4
votes
2answers
607 views

How can time be relative?

I don't understand how time can be relative to different observers, and I think my confusion is around how I understand what time is. I have always been told (and thought) that time is basically a ...
0
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1answer
132 views

In What Frame of Reference does the Special Theory of Relativity Operate? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Time Dilation - How does it know which Frame of Reference to age slower? This has bugged me for years. According to the theory of relativity, the faster an object ...
0
votes
1answer
334 views

How does time dilation work without a privileged reference frame?

As I understand special relativity, light travels at the same speed in all reference frames. What I fail to understand is why time dilation would occur in one reference frame, but not by an equal ...
4
votes
5answers
503 views

Time Dilation - How does it know which Frame of Reference to age slower?

Okay, I'm asking a question similar to this one here: Time Dilation - what happens when you bring the observers back together?. Specifically, I am curious about a specific angle on the second part of ...