Time and speed of light problem

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of traveling at the speed of light, particularly focusing on time dilation, aging, and the nature of massless particles like photons. Participants explore theoretical scenarios involving a rocket ship traveling at light speed and the resulting effects on time and aging from different frames of reference.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that if one could travel at the speed of light, they could still walk around in the rocket ship and experience aging due to the relativity of time.
  • Others argue that an observer moving with respect to the traveler would perceive time differently, leading to disagreements about aging while traveling at light speed.
  • One participant questions how a traveler could age if they were to stop after traveling at light speed for 50 years, suggesting a contradiction in the aging process at light speed.
  • Another participant asserts that coming to a stop after traveling at light speed introduces complications such as gravitational time dilation.
  • Some participants clarify that no material object can be accelerated to the speed of light, referencing external sources to support their claims.
  • There is a contention regarding the nature of photons, with some asserting that they are material things that travel at light speed, while others emphasize that photons are massless and thus can travel at that speed.
  • Participants reference the principles of special relativity to argue that massless particles can travel at light speed, while material objects cannot reach that speed due to energy requirements.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the implications of traveling at light speed, the nature of time dilation, and the characteristics of photons. The discussion remains unresolved with no consensus on several key points.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on definitions of mass and speed, as well as the unresolved implications of time dilation when transitioning between different states of motion.

super_kangaro
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If you could travel at the speed of light in a rocket ship then you could still walk around in that rocket ship because time is reletive. When you are in your rocketship you would age because time is reletive but you don't age at the speed of light so how is this possible.

Please correct this because I have to be wrong about something.

Thank you for helping :smile:
 
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Yes, you can walk around.
An observer moving with respect to you would disagree that you are aging. This is because time is only relative when applied to a different frame of reference.
 
But if the rocket came to a stop after 50 years of moving at light speed would the guy in the rocket be 50 years older than he was.

If so then how is it possible that you don't age at the speed of light.
 
super_kangaro said:
But if the rocket came to a stop after 50 years of moving at light speed would the guy in the rocket be 50 years older than he was.

If so then how is it possible that you don't age at the speed of light.
He would not be. Coming to a stop is the problem. As soon as you accelerate, you experience massive gravitational time dilation.
 
So if you go the speed of light you will not be able to slow down to a stop or slow down at all?
 
Mentz114 said:
Hi super_k,

no material thing can ever be accelerated to the speed of light. See here


"no information or material object can travel faster than light."

This a quote from that wiki page.


It says material things can't go faster than the speed of light but it doesn't say they can't go as fast as the speed of light.

Photons are material things and they are light (so they are traveling at the speed of light).
 
super_kangaro said:
"no information or material object can travel faster than light."

This a quote from that wiki page.


It says material things can't go faster than the speed of light but it doesn't say they can't go as fast as the speed of light.

Photons are material things and they are light (so they are traveling at the speed of light).

Good one buddy!
However, I think, photons can go at light speed as they are massless. With increase of mass, the speed limit should decrease, due to energy requirements. So any material body can't reach the speed of light, nor can exceed it.
 
Super_kangaro,
you'd make a better lawyer than physicist. In spite of what Wiki says I stand by my original post.

Photons are material things and they are light (so they are traveling at the speed of light)
Whoever told you that is wrong. Photons do not have mass.
 
  • #10
Mentz114 said:
In spite of what Wiki says I stand by my original post.
Your post is entirely consistent with the wiki page (and would be true even if it wasn't!). Here's another quote from that same page:
wiki said:
Special relativity reveals that c is not just the velocity of a certain phenomenon, namely the propagation of electromagnetic radiation (light)—but rather a fundamental feature of the way space and time are unified as spacetime. A consequence of this is that it is impossible for any particle that has mass to be accelerated to the speed of light.
 
  • #11
Ok thanks for answering my question :approve:
 

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