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re: Light speed Questions

Posted on 3/9/15 at 9:38 am to
Posted by skirpnasty
Atlantis
Member since Aug 2012
10781 posts
Posted on 3/9/15 at 9:38 am to
quote:

I'm not sure I am understanding. How is it possible to not be able to be a certain height?


Technically it's impossible to be exactly anything because measurements aren't rational. If something is 6 feet in length, there are actually an infinite number of decimals involved. Either like 6.000000000001 or 5.9999999. There can be an infinite number of 9's, but you're still not quite 6 feet. We count and numbers are exact and finite, but in the real world there is no such thing, infinitely approaching that value is the best you can do.

It's like a ball being perfectly round; we know that if we look closely enough, there are always going to be parts that aren't. So if we measure something and it's 1 inch long, we always know that if we look and measure more closely, you can get more precise. So nothing is ever actually a concrete value.
Posted by dallasga6
Scrap Metal Magnate...
Member since Mar 2009
25681 posts
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:04 am to
One interesting thing is if you were traveling at .99% of the speed of light you would actually travel 7 light years in a perceived physiological year (365-24hr days) due to time slowing down the closer you got to the speed of light....

To get to the nearest extrasolar star Alpha Centauri (4.4 light years away) would take about 7 months ship-time (plus time reaching .99%c)...

What would a relativistic interstellar traveller see?
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