Would Traveling at the Speed of Light Freeze Time for Everyone Else?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of traveling at the speed of light on the perception of time, exploring concepts from relativity, time dilation, and the nature of time itself. Participants engage with theoretical scenarios and personal interpretations of these concepts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that traveling at the speed of light would result in time freezing for the traveler, while others on Earth would continue to age normally.
  • Warren asserts that it is impossible to travel at the speed of light, suggesting that high speeds relative to Earth could lead to "time travel" into the future, where the traveler ages less than those remaining on Earth.
  • Decker expresses confusion about the concept of time not being absolute, questioning how one could age less than others.
  • Others, including Warren, argue against the notion of absolute time, emphasizing the flexibility of space-time as established in relativity.
  • Participants discuss the effects of gravity on time, with some suggesting that higher gravity could also slow time, while others clarify that speed, not acceleration, is the critical factor in time dilation.
  • There is a mention of the common misconception that traveling at light speed would allow instantaneous travel, with participants debating the implications of such a scenario.
  • One participant reflects on the strangeness of accepting non-absolute time, indicating a personal struggle with the concept.
  • Another participant questions the validity of anecdotal claims about space travel and time dilation, suggesting that such scenarios are often misunderstood or misrepresented.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the feasibility of traveling at the speed of light and the implications of time dilation, with multiple competing views on the nature of time and its relationship to speed and gravity. The discussion remains unresolved, with differing interpretations and understandings of relativity.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the mathematical principles underlying time dilation and the effects of gravity, indicating a lack of consensus on the specifics of these concepts. There are also references to anecdotal scenarios that may not be scientifically grounded.

AnthreX
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if you travel in the speed of light
it is so fast that your time would freeze.

say if you travel around Earth for 12 hours on speed of light
that means you are frozen for 12 hours but what about the other time.
those people who are not traveling in the speed of light wouldn't have their time frozen. so would you be in past or present ?
 
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A) You cannot travel the speed of light.

B) Travelling very quickly with respect to the Earth would facilitate "time travel" to the future. You would age very little during your trip, while everyone on Earth would age normally.

- Warren
 
I do not understand. How can you age less than them? It does not make sense for me for time to not be absolute.
 
It doesn't make sense for me for time to BE absolute.

- Warren
 
Decker, if you don't understand the flexibility of space-time, you might consider looking into a book on relativity. It's pretty well established that time is not absolute.

cookiemonster
 
Okay, I'll see if I can afford a book. Thanks for sharing, chroot.
 
Speed of light huh...
it would be nice to have one :D
i mean a spaceship which can travel speed of light
i wouldn't want to melt you know :/
unless you are on space
 
So where would you go with one, AnthreX?

cookiemonster
 
As I said, it's not possible to build a spaceship that can go the speed of light.

- Warren
 
  • #10
Originally posted by chroot
As I said, it's not possible to build a spaceship that can go the speed of light.

- Warren

I think they are just brainstorming.
 
  • #11
It's still an important distinction.

cookiemonster
 
  • #12
This is not the appropriate forum for brainstorming. Try the Theory Development forum.

- Warren
 
  • #13
90% of science is thinking stuff up, 10% testing to see if you're correct. (those numbers where plucked out of thin air)

the faster you go, the slower Time goes for you.
the more gravity you are being effected by, Time goes slower for you.

so if you are traveling at near light speed while under high G's, for 1 year, you would age 1 year, where as everyone else who is NOT going near light speed under high G's, (such as everyone back on earth) aged faster, like 100 years. again, the numbers are plucked at random, but the prinsable is well known.

acually, is there some calculation that determins the Time differnce as you go faster, and as the G's go up, and also if Time goes faster WHILE G's go up.

i often hear about people going into space and even if they traveled at the speed of light it would take them 1000's of years to get anywhere decent and it would be their great great great great great grandkids that would acually get where they are going. which i feel is very wrong, once you are going the speed of light, any trip is instentanyous. (for you that is) (grabs a knife and butchers that long word)
 
  • #14
Instantaneous. I may suck at physics, but I can spell good.

This time thing - I know it's correct, so I am not denying it or anything. But to be honest, it just seems very weird. It's kind of a strange feeling trying to accept something that I've never experienced and can't imagine.

I think probably a lot of people experienced that when they learned about time not being absolute.
 
  • #15
Originally posted by Gara
90% of science is thinking stuff up, 10% testing to see if you're correct. (those numbers where plucked out of thin air)

I'm glad you admitted "plucking them out of thin air". I would suspect they should be the other way around.


the faster you go, the slower Time goes for you.
the more gravity you are being effected by, Time goes slower for you.

so if you are traveling at near light speed while under high G's, for 1 year, you would age 1 year, where as everyone else who is NOT going near light speed under high G's, (such as everyone back on earth) aged faster, like 100 years. again, the numbers are plucked at random, but the prinsable is well known.
Yes, and the formulas are pretty well known too. Why not use actual numbers? By the way, it is the speed being close to light speed that slows things down. Acceleration is not important (well, until you get to REALLY high "G's" like you would feel on the surface of the sun- and if I remember correctly, high forces or high "G's" make time speed up).

acually, is there some calculation that determins the Time differnce as you go faster, and as the G's go up, and also if Time goes faster WHILE G's go up.
No, it is not acceleration that is important, it is speed.

i often hear about people going into space and even if they traveled at the speed of light it would take them 1000's of years to get anywhere decent and it would be their great great great great great grandkids that would acually get where they are going. which i feel is very wrong, once you are going the speed of light, any trip is instentanyous. (for you that is) (grabs a knife and butchers that long word)
Where do you hear about these people? I don't believe anyone has ever actually done anything like that! If you are thinking about stories about people traveling in "generation ships" to distant stars, the whole point was that they could not get to speeds anywhere near the speed of light.
 
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  • #16
That is exactly what Einstein solved in his theory of relativity, is that time isn't absolute. It is always different to respect to n-variable motions of all particles. It may be a fraction of a millionth of a second, but there is still time dilation in respect to all particles.
 
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