Twins Paradox: The paradox within the paradox

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Twins Paradox, specifically addressing the implications of time dilation on biological processes within a traveling twin's body compared to their Earth-bound sibling. Participants explore the relationship between inertial frames of reference and the aging of cells during high-speed space travel.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that while time perception for the traveling twin remains normal, the internal components of their body, such as kidney cells, would age similarly to their Earth-bound sibling due to their own inertial frame of reference.
  • Another participant argues that all organs travel with the person in the spaceship, implying that they share the same reference frame and thus experience time dilation uniformly.
  • A later reply clarifies that the initial claim misunderstood the relationship between the body and its components, emphasizing that the body and its cells accelerate together during the journey.
  • Another participant counters that from the perspective of the kidney cells, they do not experience acceleration in the same way as the overall body does, drawing a parallel to the Earth's inertial frame while orbiting the Sun.
  • One participant expresses confusion over the previous arguments, asserting that if the body accelerates, all components, including teeth, must also accelerate unless they detach.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the inertial frames of reference for the traveling twin's cells versus their overall body, leading to an unresolved debate regarding the implications of acceleration and time perception on biological aging.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the definitions of inertial frames and the effects of acceleration on biological processes, which influence the participants' arguments.

YummyFur
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The twin who has left Earth and travels close to the speed of light in his spaceship, lands back on Earth only to find everyone has died of old age thousands of years ago.

This I'm told is because the perception of time and time itself, within the inertial frame of reference of the spaceship passes normally. But what about the cells in her body. Wouldn't the kidney for example be an inertial frame of reference for the kidney cells. From the cells' point of view they are aging and dying or multiplying with cancerous intent as if the body containing the organ were still on Earth because whether the body is moving or not, the organ containing the cells is stationary from the point of view of the cells.

Therefore would it not be that while time would be perceived to be running normally for the person, that the internal components of the body would age the same way as her Earthbound brother.
 
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How could the person who gets on a spaceship leave their cells on earth? when you get in a spaceship, a car, a train, go for a walk, your organs travel with you. Otherwise I think you would die, say, without a heart or lungs or a brain, if they did not stay in your body. So the organs travel with her on the spaceship, and are therefore in the same reference frame as her, not on Earth's reference frame
 
you have misunderstood

...as if the body containing the organ were still on Earth...
 
YummyFur said:
Wouldn't the kidney for example be an inertial frame of reference for the kidney cells. From the cells' point of view they are aging and dying or multiplying with cancerous intent as if the body containing the organ were still on Earth because whether the body is moving or not, the organ containing the cells is stationary from the point of view of the cells.
Everything accelerates inside the body as well when the body accelerates.
 
But from the cells pov with the kidney as the inertial frame of reference the cells are not accelerating. In the same way that we do not take into account the Earth's acceleration while orbiting the Sun, when we consider the Earth to be an inertial frame of reference with respect to physical laws taking place on the surface of the Earth.
 
YummyFur said:
But from the cells pov with the kidney as the inertial frame of reference the cells are not accelerating. In the same way that we do not take into account the Earth's acceleration while orbiting the Sun, when we consider the Earth to be an inertial from of reference with respect to physical laws taking place on the surface of the Earth.
Sorry what you say does not make any sense.

If you accelerate, your teeth will accelerate as well unless they fall out.
 

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