- #1
Ranvir
- 13
- 10
So, I have been thinking about TRAPPIST-1 and how far away that system is from us. It is 40ly away from Earth, according to our frame of reference. This is often put in a way that makes one think that even at speeds close to that of light, it will take almost 40 years to get there.
The muons in our upper atmosphere, on the other hand, show something different. Even though they are short lived, unstable particles they often make it to the surface of the Earth just because of their high velocities. Here length contraction/ time dilation makes them survive long enough( Or brings us closer to them).
Won't the same argument work for human subjects, traveling at relativistic speeds?
The distance between them and TRAPPIST-1 would be so small that they may finish it in a couple of years, depending on their precise speeds.
I don't know, if I am missing something here, except the Earth's reference frame where it is inevitably 40 years, but the astronaut might not be that discomforted by the journey, at the end of the day. (Feel free to throw quantitative arguments and maths to make your point, if you want to)
The muons in our upper atmosphere, on the other hand, show something different. Even though they are short lived, unstable particles they often make it to the surface of the Earth just because of their high velocities. Here length contraction/ time dilation makes them survive long enough( Or brings us closer to them).
Won't the same argument work for human subjects, traveling at relativistic speeds?
The distance between them and TRAPPIST-1 would be so small that they may finish it in a couple of years, depending on their precise speeds.
I don't know, if I am missing something here, except the Earth's reference frame where it is inevitably 40 years, but the astronaut might not be that discomforted by the journey, at the end of the day. (Feel free to throw quantitative arguments and maths to make your point, if you want to)
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