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Random Question About pushing a pole at c

  1. Aug 3, 2017 #1

    Eric Hanaway

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    From time to time I like to chat with flat Earthers and help them clear up their confusion. Today I came upon a question I couldn't answer, and since it is summer, I couldn't ask a professor.

    Would two people, on two separate planets, holding one pole, feel a push from the other instantaneously without violating the speed of light? I realize the answer is in the elasticity of the material, but what if the material was rigid?

    This might be an easy question to answer, but I am at the beginning of my studies.
     
    Eric Hanaway, Aug 3, 2017
  2. jcsd
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  3. Aug 3, 2017 #2

    phinds

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    This question, in one form or another, is asked here a couple of times a month, at least. There is no such thing as a "rigid" pole and impulses travel at the speed of sound in the material. Compared to c, this speed is approximately zero.
     
    phinds, Aug 3, 2017
  4. Aug 3, 2017 #3

    berkeman

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    Staff: Mentor

    berkeman, Aug 3, 2017
  5. Aug 3, 2017 #4

    fresh_42

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    The question is answered, and to all who are interested where exactly:
    so I close the thread.
     
    fresh_42, Aug 3, 2017
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