What Is Time Dilation and How Does It Affect Travel at the Speed of Light?

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Waxb18
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Time
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of time dilation in the context of traveling at the speed of light, particularly in relation to a hypothetical journey to a diamond planet located 40 light years away. Participants explore the implications of such travel on the passage of time for both the travelers and observers on Earth.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question how long a round trip to a diamond planet would take from both Earth’s perspective and the travelers’ perspective, given the distance of 40 light years.
  • One participant suggests that traveling at the speed of light is impossible and proposes that if one were to travel at 99.9% of the speed of light, the time experienced would differ significantly from that on Earth.
  • A participant introduces the concept of the gamma factor from relativity, which affects the calculation of time experienced by travelers at high speeds.
  • There is a humorous exchange regarding the practicality of collecting diamonds on the planet and the potential transformation of carbon in the human body into diamond due to the planet's conditions.
  • Questions arise about the nature of light and its movement through space, leading to some confusion about terminology used in the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying levels of understanding regarding time dilation and the implications of traveling at light speed. There is no consensus on the feasibility of such travel or the specifics of time experienced during the journey.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the limitations of their knowledge and the complexity of the physics involved, particularly regarding the calculations of time dilation and the implications of traveling at relativistic speeds.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those curious about the effects of relativistic travel on time perception, as well as individuals exploring the conceptual implications of physics in hypothetical scenarios.

Waxb18
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hello all...

I am by no means a physicist and neither are my colleagues, however at time we find ourselves discussing the the most bizarre subjects ranging from do we really exist to would it one day be possible to upload out conciousness to a computer and live eternally.

Todays subject is traveling at the speed of light and we're all stumped...

As you may or may not have heard scientists have discovered a planet 40 light years away made from diamonds :eek:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/astronomers-diamond-planet-180659708.html

the Question we have, is if we traveled at the speed of light in a straight line to get to this planet, loaded up a pocketful of diamonds and traveled back in a straight line,

How long would have passed on earth?
and how long would have passed on our ship?

Please note we're not physicists but Business Analysts
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Waxb18 said:
Hello all...

I am by no means a physicist and neither are my colleagues, however at time we find ourselves discussing the the most bizarre subjects ranging from do we really exist to would it one day be possible to upload out conciousness to a computer and live eternally.

Todays subject is traveling at the speed of light and we're all stumped...

As you may or may not have heard scientists have discovered a planet 40 light years away made from diamonds :eek:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/astronomers-diamond-planet-180659708.html

the Question we have, is if we traveled at the speed of light in a straight line to get to this planet, loaded up a pocketful of diamonds and traveled back in a straight line,

How long would have passed on earth?
and how long would have passed on our ship?

Please note we're not physicists but Business Analysts
Since the planet is 40 light years away, it would take light 40 years to get there and another 40 years to get back for a total of 80 years.

However, you cannot travel at the speed of light so the answer for you is that it would take you just over 80 years to make the round trip so if you leave now you could get back by the end of 2092. The good news is that you won't age hardly at all during the trip although who knows what this world will be like in 2092, maybe a pocketful of diamonds will be worthless.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
right...ill get packing my bags
 
Better pack a jack hammer. It sounds like the diamonds there might be too big to fit into your pocket.
 
Also, be forewarned, at the temperature of the planet, all the carbon in your body might just be turned into diamond when you get there.
 
A photon travels at the speed of light. Anything traveling at the speed of light doesn't really experience the passage of time, even though it moves through space and time.

That also means it's not a realistic thing to ask about going to another planet at the speed of light. It's not just impractical--the theory makes it impossible. You can get close to the speed of light, and the time it takes will depend on just how close you get. I wasn't able to find any references on this specific problem, but doing some napkin math, here's a basic idea regarding the result I get:

Example: you travel to the diamond planet at 99.9% of the speed of light. According to Earth, the time it takes you is 40 years / .999 = about 40 years and 15 days. However, according to you, the time it takes you to travel this time is about 1 year and 9.5 months.
 
Sorry but i never got the opportunity to study napkin math...

Can you explain where you get 1 year 9.5 months from?
 
You take the time it would take according to Earth and divide out a factor called [itex]\gamma=(1-.999^2)^{-1/2} \approx 22[/itex] or so. Can't remember the exact value off the top of my head. This gamma factor shows up a lot in relativity.
 
ghwellsjr said:
Also, be forewarned, at the temperature of the planet, all the carbon in your body might just be turned into diamond when you get there.

lol,

I foresee a superhero...Note this service is available on Earth now. No longer just an urn of ashes, now you can get a diamond.

now I am wondering how many karats I would be.
 
  • #10
Muphrid said:
Anything traveling at the speed of light doesn't really experience the passage of time, even though it moves through space and time.

Have we ever seen light move through space?
 
  • #11
Not sure what you're asking. Light has a speed, so yes, it moves through space. Since I'm not sure what you mean, what makes you uncertain?
 
  • #12
Muphrid said:
Not sure what you're asking. Light has a speed, so yes, it moves through space. Since I'm not sure what you mean, what makes you uncertain?

ohh through space... not in space.
 

Similar threads

High School Would We See the Same Light After Traveling Back to Earth Faster Than Light?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Effects of time dilation for near-speed-of-light travel
  • · Replies 65 ·
3
Replies
65
Views
13K
High School Time Dilation: How Does Speed Affect Aging?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
8K
High School Calculating Time taken to reach speed with Time Dilation
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
High School Deep Space Speed Limit: What Prevents Exceeding Light Speed?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
High School Does Time Move Slower for Travelers in Special Relativity Experiments?
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
3K
High School Trying to understand what "time" is (layperson)
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
3K
High School Faster than speed of light due to time dilation?
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
5K
Graduate 1-Way Speed of Light
  • · Replies 42 ·
2
Replies
42
Views
3K
High School Let me ask a thing about the Speed of Light
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K