Time Dilation & Speed of Light: Evidence Needed

In summary: I'm sure someone here will provide details, or you can find it on the internet. Sorry about the lack of specifics.
  • #1
kyeohti
3
0
I don't want to beat a dead horse with anyone fixed on dogma, but I do understand the theory of relativity and the part on time dilation, I don't yet believe. Who knows of evidence that time dilation really does occur and that traveling faster than the speed of light really is and always will be impossible?

Thanks,

Kyeohti
 
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  • #2
kyeohti said:
I don't want to beat a dead horse with anyone fixed on dogma, but I do understand the theory of relativity and the part on time dilation, I don't yet believe. Who knows of evidence that time dilation really does occur and that traveling faster than the speed of light really is and always will be impossible?

Thanks,

Kyeohti

There is incontrovertible evidence of time dilation. It's based on the decay rate of some cosmic ray particle (I forget what) as it travels from the upper atmosphere to detectors on the ground. I'm sure someone here will provide details, or you can find it on the internet. Sorry about the lack of specifics.

If you believe in FTL travel, well good luck with that.
 
  • #3
kyeohti said:
I don't want to beat a dead horse with anyone fixed on dogma, but I do understand the theory of relativity and the part on time dilation, I don't yet believe. Who knows of evidence that time dilation really does occur and that traveling faster than the speed of light really is and always will be impossible?

Thanks,

Kyeohti

http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v3/n12/abs/nphys778.html

Zz.
 
  • #4
phinds said:
There is incontrovertible evidence of time dilation. It's based on the decay rate of some cosmic ray particle (I forget what) as it travels from the upper atmosphere to detectors on the ground. I'm sure someone here will provide details, or you can find it on the internet. Sorry about the lack of specifics.

If you believe in FTL travel, well good luck with that.

Muons are produced in the upper atmosphere in large numbers by cosmic rays. If they decayed as they do at rest, they would be essentially all decayed within 1 km of travel. Thus we would see only those produced in the bottom 1km of the atmosphere. This would be a very small number. Instead, essentially all the muons make it to the ground, and are a major reason many experiments have to done in mine shafts - to filter out this ever present barrage of cosmic ray produced muons.
 
  • #5
There is a huge amount of experimental evidence. For an overview, have a look at the Wikipedia article on tests of special relativity.
 
  • #6
Or follow the link in the FAQ "Experimental Basis of Special Relativity" at the top of this forum.
 

1. What is time dilation?

Time dilation is a phenomenon in which time passes at different rates for objects moving at different speeds. It occurs due to the effects of relativity, namely the theory of special relativity which states that the laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion.

2. How does time dilation relate to the speed of light?

The theory of special relativity states that the speed of light is constant, regardless of the observer's frame of reference. This means that the passage of time can appear to slow down for objects that are moving close to the speed of light, according to observers in a different frame of reference.

3. What evidence supports the concept of time dilation?

There is a lot of evidence supporting the concept of time dilation, including the results of experiments such as the famous Hafele-Keating experiment which showed that atomic clocks on airplanes experienced a small amount of time dilation due to their high speeds. Additionally, the observations of cosmic rays and the decay rates of subatomic particles also provide evidence for time dilation.

4. Can time dilation be observed in everyday life?

Yes, time dilation can be observed in everyday life, although the effects are usually very small. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites need to account for time dilation in order to maintain accurate time measurements, as they are moving at high speeds relative to the Earth's surface.

5. How does time dilation affect our understanding of the universe?

Time dilation is a crucial concept in understanding the behavior of objects moving at high speeds, such as stars and galaxies. It also plays a role in our understanding of the expansion of the universe and the concept of space-time. Without considering time dilation, our understanding of the universe would be incomplete and many phenomena would be difficult to explain.

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