Speed of light and Time Travel

In summary, pilots experience 3-6 times the G force of earth, and due to relativistic time dilation, age more slowly than normal human aging. Although the effects are negligible, it may be why pilots prefer to fly faster than normal.
  • #1
kadAfi
5
0
Well, We all know about Einstein Theory of Relativity.

The speed of light is constant.
And if someone travels close to the speed of light; time goes slower than someone walking on Earth etc.

Ok, this is my question. (Involves Pilots)

Ok, since pilots travel at amazing speeds of 1,000 - 3,000 miles or higher in Military Jet planes and commercial planes and they experience 3-6 times the G force of earth. Let's say a pilot is flying around the world for 24 Hours straight let's assume.

So, in those 24 hours traveling at those fast speeds. Does the pilot age a bit slower than normal human aging during that 24 hour period?

Explain.
 
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  • #2
Originally posted by kadAfi
Well, We all know about Einstein Theory of Relativity.

The speed of light is constant.
And if someone travels close to the speed of light; time goes slower than someone walking on Earth etc.

Ok, this is my question. (Involves Pilots)

Ok, since pilots travel at amazing speeds of 1,000 - 3,000 miles or higher in Military Jet planes and commercial planes and they experience 3-6 times the G force of earth. Let's say a pilot is flying around the world for 24 Hours straight let's assume.

So, in those 24 hours traveling at those fast speeds. Does the pilot age a bit slower than normal human aging during that 24 hour period?

Explain.
I believe that the answer is yes, but only very very very very very very slightly. I mean, how does 3000 compare to 300000000? And then, in many cases, 90000000000000000? Not much at all.
 
  • #3
The pilots i seen so young and they are very old.


Specially this 79 year old men looking like in his 40's year old.

But, the others around 50's


He must of pulled a lot of G's in his flights. ;)

hehe.
 
  • #4
Originally posted by kadAfi
The pilots i seen so young and they are very old.


Specially this 79 year old men looking like in his 40's year old.

But, the others around 50's


He must of pulled a lot of G's in his flights. ;)

hehe.

*smacks forehead*

[tex]
t = \tau\gamma
[/tex]

[tex]
\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}
[/tex]

[tex]

v = 14432 \frac{meters}{sec}
[/tex]

[tex]

t = \frac{\tau}{\sqrt{1-\frac{14432^2}{299792456^2}}}
= \frac{\tau}{\sqrt{1-2.317x10^{-9}}}
[/tex]

[tex]

= \frac{\tau}{0.99999999884127}
= 1.0000000011587\tau
[/tex]

given that the g forces are only experienced during acceleration and never exceed ten gs (for medical reasons) we can calculate:

[tex]
ds^2 = 1-\frac{\frac{2GM}{c^2}}{R}dt^2
[/tex]

[tex]
ds = \sqrt{1-\frac{8.86112x10^{-3}}{6x10^24}}dt
[/tex]

[tex]
ds = \sqrt{1-1.47685x10^{-27}}dt
[/tex]

that is for 1 g, which the coefficient is obviously insinificant. If we make the Earth ten times more massive(10 g basically) we get:

[tex]
ds^2 = 1-\frac{\frac{2GM}{c^2}}{R}dt^2
[/tex]

[tex]
ds = \sqrt{1-\frac{8.86112x10^{-2}}{6x10^24}}dt
[/tex]

[tex]
ds = \sqrt{1-1.47685x10^{-26}}dt
[/tex]

Which remains insignificant. Any added g forces will have essentially nil effect, the special relativisitc effects of the high velocity however are measurable by atomic clocks, but not significant in terms of a human lifetime or any amount of time recognizable by humans. For example if you lived a hundred years by your watch at that velocity some remote observer would measure 100.00000011587 years, which amounts to a net difference of 3 seconds over 100 years. Not much.
 
Last edited:
  • #5
Originally posted by kadAfi
The pilots i seen so young and they are very old.


Specially this 79 year old men looking like in his 40's year old.

But, the others around 50's


He must of pulled a lot of G's in his flights. ;)

hehe.


HEY franznietzsche!

I did not typed that second post.

I was away from the computer and my little immature brother sat down and post that.. i think he deleted some of my files..

kids.. bah...
 
  • #6
Originally posted by kadAfi
HEY franznietzsche!

I did not typed that second post.

I was away from the computer and my little immature brother sat down and post that.. i think he deleted some of my files..

kids.. bah...

meh, either way, was good excersize for me.

But yeah the pilot does age more slowly, just not much. Its very insignificant as the numers show.
 
  • #7
Originally posted by kadAfi
HEY franznietzsche!

I did not typed that second post.

I was away from the computer and my little immature brother sat down and post that.. i think he deleted some of my files..

kids.. bah...

Hey! I'm going to use that the next time I suddenly realize that I had just said something stupid!
 
  • #8
Originally posted by HallsofIvy
Hey! I'm going to use that the next time I suddenly realize that I had just said something stupid!

Hehe... GREAT idea! I'll use that too, except I'll blame it on my evil twin Skippy! :)

Zz.
 
  • #9
hmm..


HallsofENVY you think you're some kind of physic?


Ook , ms cleooo^^^
 
  • #10
Damn. So, one would have to travel at a velocity 10.5 million times that of a jet for 100 years to "gain" a single year due to time dilation? That's if I even have my math right.
In any event, I can see that we don't fly jets for longevity.
 
  • #11
From Franz's post above - am I right in thinking that the centrapeital force experienced from loop de looping in a plane (or in any other way) contributes towards time dilation in the same fashion as being in a gravitational field?

Because I've never heard that before (my knowledge of special relativity is reasonable and of general, minimal.)
 
  • #12
Sir
if we travel around Earth in opposite motion for 20 yrs then could we can go to past
 
  • #13
SANDU said:
Sir
if we travel around Earth in opposite motion for 20 yrs then could we can go to past
A very strange assertion. Do you have any evidence to support it?
 
  • #14
HallsofIvy said:
A very strange assertion. Do you have any evidence to support it?

I think that was part of the plot of one of the Superman movies.
 
  • #15
SANDU said:
Sir
if we travel around Earth in opposite motion for 20 yrs then could we can go to past
No. You'll still be going into 'the future', regardless of your direction of travel.
 

1. What is the speed of light?

The speed of light, denoted by the symbol 'c', is a constant in the universe that represents the speed at which light travels in a vacuum. It is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second (m/s).

2. How was the speed of light discovered?

The speed of light was first accurately measured by Danish astronomer Ole Roemer in the 17th century. He observed the timings of the eclipses of Jupiter's moon Io, and noticed that the timings were slightly different depending on the position of Earth in its orbit around the sun. This led him to conclude that light has a finite speed.

3. Can anything travel faster than the speed of light?

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, the speed of light is the maximum speed at which anything in the universe can travel. It is a fundamental constant and cannot be surpassed.

4. How does the speed of light relate to time travel?

According to the theory of relativity, as an object's speed approaches the speed of light, time slows down for that object. This means that as an object travels at the speed of light, time would essentially stop for that object. However, traveling at the speed of light is currently not possible with our current technology.

5. Is time travel possible?

While the concept of time travel is popular in science fiction, it is currently not possible with our current understanding of physics. The theory of relativity does allow for the possibility of time dilation, where time can appear to pass at different rates for different observers, but this does not necessarily mean that time travel is possible.

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