Question about space travel and the human body

AI Thread Summary
The discussion raises a question about whether humans can accelerate to near-light speed without exceeding 5 Gs of force, considering the average human lifespan. It suggests calculating the total seconds in a lifetime and comparing the speed achieved through constant acceleration at 5 Gs to the speed of light. The importance of relativistic effects is noted, indicating that initial calculations should ignore them for simplicity. If the calculated speed is significantly lower than the speed of light, the question is resolved. The discussion encourages participants to perform these calculations to explore the feasibility of such space travel.
Keith
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Hello I have a question that's been bothering me for a while now and I figured I'd post it here to see if anyone could put my mind at ease. (Sorry if I accidentally posted this in the wrong place)

Given that people can only withstand a certain amount of force on their bodies (about 5 Gs), would the amount of time that it would take to reach (near) the speed of light exceed the length of the average life expectancy? In other words, is it possible for a human to accelerate to (and decelerate from) the speed of light within a lifetime without experiencing more than 5 Gs of force?
 
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That's something you should be able to calculate for yourself. How many seconds does an average person live? How much is 5G, in meters per second per second? If you completely ignore relativistic effects, what speed would resulting from accelerating at that rate for a lifetime? How does this compare with the speed of light?

If it's close, you would have to go back and do the relativistic acceleration calculation to be sure. But if it's not even slightly close, you'll have your answer. Try it and see what you get...
 

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