- #1
BenWillcox
- 2
- 0
I thought of this today...
Suppose a solid rod of diamond (so there would be no slack) existed that extended from Earth to the distance of the sun. For example, someone at a location the distance of the sun away would be holding one end of the rod, while the other end would be held by a person on earth. IF the person at the distance of the sun tugged on the rod, would the person on Earth feel a pull instantly? If light takes 8 minutes to travel from the sun to earth, couldn't the kinetic energy of this tug be felt by the person on Earth at a rate faster than the speed of light?
Of course none of this is possible and obviously isn't true, but I'm wondering why this wouldn't occur faster than the speed of light.
Thanks,
Benjamin Willcox
Suppose a solid rod of diamond (so there would be no slack) existed that extended from Earth to the distance of the sun. For example, someone at a location the distance of the sun away would be holding one end of the rod, while the other end would be held by a person on earth. IF the person at the distance of the sun tugged on the rod, would the person on Earth feel a pull instantly? If light takes 8 minutes to travel from the sun to earth, couldn't the kinetic energy of this tug be felt by the person on Earth at a rate faster than the speed of light?
Of course none of this is possible and obviously isn't true, but I'm wondering why this wouldn't occur faster than the speed of light.
Thanks,
Benjamin Willcox