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Dadface
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[Mentor's note: This thread is forked from https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/bell-spaceship-paradox-quantitatively.828670/ for discussion of the basic principles behind the spaceship paradox]
Suppose the string was replaced by some structure which linked the ships together to make a longer ship. If the string breaks then by the same reasoning the joining structure should break also. The first breakage would not necessarily occur in the joining structure but in the weakest point between the front and rear of the ship. In fact we can ignore the joining structure and consider one of the original ships. If the front and rear move with the same acceleration then the ship should break and if any fragments continue accelerating they should break and so on.
Does this mean that any object accelerating to very high speeds will tend to break? What am I overlooking?
Thanks
Suppose the string was replaced by some structure which linked the ships together to make a longer ship. If the string breaks then by the same reasoning the joining structure should break also. The first breakage would not necessarily occur in the joining structure but in the weakest point between the front and rear of the ship. In fact we can ignore the joining structure and consider one of the original ships. If the front and rear move with the same acceleration then the ship should break and if any fragments continue accelerating they should break and so on.
Does this mean that any object accelerating to very high speeds will tend to break? What am I overlooking?
Thanks
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