A Bus travelling at a very high speed.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the effects of high-speed travel on time perception, particularly in the context of a bus moving at relativistic speeds. Participants explore concepts from relativity, time dilation, and the influence of Earth's rotation on timekeeping, with references to experimental evidence.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asserts that while a bus travels at high speed, passengers experience time normally, but an outside observer would perceive time on the bus as slowed due to relativity.
  • Another participant introduces the idea that the direction of the bus's travel relative to Earth's rotation affects the ticking of clocks on board, suggesting that westward travel results in faster ticking compared to staying stationary, while eastward travel results in slower ticking.
  • Reference is made to the Hafele and Keating experiment, which involved airplanes, to support claims about time dilation effects based on velocity relative to the center of the Earth.
  • Some participants question the validity of the claims regarding time dilation and the implications of Earth's rotation, indicating a lack of consensus on the mechanisms involved.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on how high-speed travel affects time perception and the mechanisms behind it. There is no consensus on the explanations provided, and some participants challenge the interpretations of relativity and the implications of the Hafele and Keating experiment.

Contextual Notes

Discussions include assumptions about relative motion and the effects of Earth's rotation, which may not be fully explored or agreed upon. The complexity of general relativity and its predictions is acknowledged but not deeply analyzed.

Naveen123
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A bus travels at a very high speed. It's time slows down.

What's the mechanism by which this happens?

Any help please?
 
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Naveen123 said:
A bus travels at a very high speed. It's time slows down. A
No, it doesn't. As far as people in the bus are concerned, everything happens at normal speed. Their watches run at normal speed, they breath normally, they walk up and down the aisle as usual.

Also, remember that this is relativeity. It makes no sense to say "travels at a very high speed" without specifying relative to what that speed is measured. If a bus went by me at relativistic speed, relative to me, and it were possible to observe the people on the bus, I would see them moving slowly, breathing slowly, their watches running slow, etc.

However, again, this is "relative". From the point of view of the people in the bus, they are stationary and I am moving very fast relative to them. They would see me moving slowly, breathing slowly, my watch running slowly, etc.

What's the mechanism by which this happens?

Any help please?
What do you mean by "mechanism"?
 
Actually if the bus is traveling westwards clocks on board that bus will tick faster then they would it the bus had stayed in the garage. If, on the other hand, the bus would travel eastward clocks on the bus will start ticking slower. This is becaue the Earth rotates "eastwards".

What actually matters is what velocity the bus will have in relation to the center of the earth... This has been confirmed in an experiment called the "Hafele and Keating experiment". You can google it. In that expreiment they were using aeroplanes and not busses but the physics is the same.

I am not qualified to explain why general relativity predicts this...
 
Since the OP is no longer with us, it's a good time to close the thread.
 
Agerhell said:
Actually if the bus is traveling westwards clocks on board that bus will tick faster then they would it the bus had stayed in the garage. If, on the other hand, the bus would travel eastward clocks on the bus will start ticking slower. This is becaue the Earth rotates "eastwards".
This is a joke, right?

What actually matters is what velocity the bus will have in relation to the center of the earth... This has been confirmed in an experiment called the "Hafele and Keating experiment". You can google it. In that expreiment they were using aeroplanes and not busses but the physics is the same.

I am not qualified to explain why general relativity predicts this...
Okay, I did google it. Hafele and Keating showed a time gain in both directions, as relativity predicts.
 

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