Einstein's Twin Paradox: Age Difference on a Rocket at the Speed of Light

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In the discussion about Einstein's Twin Paradox, participants debated the implications of a rocket traveling at the speed of light and the effects of aging on both the astronaut and a person on Earth. It was clarified that a rocket cannot slow down in space without firing its engines, and the concept of time dilation was emphasized, noting that time effectively "freezes" at light speed. The astronaut would remain 24 years old while the Earth-bound individual would continue to age normally. Questions arose regarding the context of the inquiry, whether it was a genuine curiosity or a brain teaser. The conversation highlighted the complexities of relativistic physics and the need for clear framing in such discussions.
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say the rocket had a engine, which produced to get the rocket to go at the speed of light but then it ran out of fuel and the rocket would slow down. what would be the age difference between them? say both were 24 one on Earth and one on return journey from a nearby star system.
 
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General_Relativity19 said:
say the rocket had a engine, which produced to get the rocket to go at the speed of light but then it ran out of fuel and the rocket would slow down. what would be the age difference between them? say both were 24 one on Earth and one on return journey from a nearby star system.
That isn't even close to being a coherent thought. Could you try again please? The one part that made any sense - the part about the rocket slowing down - is wrong. Rockets do not slow down in space without engines firing to slow them down.
 
russ_watters said:
That isn't even close to being a coherent thought. Could you try again please? The one part that made any sense - the part about the rocket slowing down - is wrong. Rockets do not slow down in space without engines firing to slow them down.


ok so what if the there were engines that fired to slow them down?
 
Well, your question is kind of sketchy, but if I am reading it right...
since light has no notion of time (time freezes when you are traveling the speed of light), the spaceship in space would be equal to 24 (it would remain unchanged, and the spaceship on Earth would have continued aging at a normal rate...
 
cheers mark
 
Does the spaceman come back to Earth to compare ages ? You don't specify which frame you are measuring in ? Are you asking because you want to know...or because you want to see what other people know ? In other words, is this a doubt or a brain teaser ? The latter does not belong here.
 
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