Leading on from my other thread, faster than light travel?

[o'dium]

I know there are quite a few boffins here who know a little bit too much about this stuff.

What’s the deal? I mean obviously that planet in the other thread (pick one heh) is 21 odd light-years away so even at the speed of light it would take at least 21 years to reach. But what’s the deal with faster than light travel? Is it even possible? What about fuels, gravity, time etc?

I know its a big answer for a little question, but what’s the main pitfalls we would have to over come, and do you think its even possible? What about the fact we haven’t really made any advances towards travel with regards to fuel since we set foot on the moon?

Answers on a postcard?

[MKJ]

well, the theory of relativity tells us that going faster than light will fuck up the timeline.

that is, very simplified, lets say the constant of 'time' equals 2 and the constant of 'space' (distance in this situation) equals 1.

that means continuum = time + space
or 3 = 2 + 1.
now, if you were to go faster than light (theoratically the fastest speed there is, and therefore another constant), you'd increase distance (from 1 to 2). for the continuum to persevere (read: the 3 to stay 3), time has to decrease from 2 to 1.

ergo, time would be slower since the product would always have to be 3.

its obviously a lot more complicated than that and there are a lot of nooks n crannies that I didnt (nor going to) explore in this particular scenario, but this should get you an idea of the main pitfall

[o'dium]

So how do they do it on Star Trek?

[spl1ff]

speeds faster than light are not likely...
just need to bend space to travel faster

[Fender]

lol MKJ

The real answer is that the faster you go, the more effective mass you have, thus requiring more and more energy to go faster. To accelerate to the speed of light, you need infinite energy. It doesn't have anything to do with fucking up the timeline.

[Jackal]

In order to achieve warp speeds humans will need to learn how to properly use the words "to", "too", and "two". (Odium)

[SplishSplash]

Heim Theory allows for a fairly easy method for faster than light travel. Unfortunately, the theory seems to be a bit goofy in places and isn't widely accepted. (The dude who invented it was blind, deaf and had no hands, yet was able to come up with one of the earliest attempts to unify General Relativity and Quantum theory.)

However! Even though most of the "mainstream" still thinks string theory will provide the correct answers someday, another theory called Loop Quantum Gravity gains more and more momentum.
And surprise, surprise: There are some significant similarities between Heim theory and LQG.

So maybe, if LQG and/or Heim theory is right, there might be a way for faster than light travel in our future.

The problem is that these theories are EXTREMELY hard to prove, so right nobody really knows what's going on.
My money is on LQG though. I'm by no means a physicist, but a theory that explains most of the problems with INFINITY! (string theory) can't be right imo.

[o'dium]

In order to achieve warp speeds humans will need to learn how to properly use the words "to", "too", and "two". (Odium)

I was under the impression the way it was typed, "with regards to fuel", was correct. Care to tell me why? Not saying what you said was wrong, but hey, show me instead of just acting like you usually do.

[Jackal]

"I know there are quite a few boffins here who know a little bit to much about this stuff."

[o'dium]

"I know there are quite a few boffins here who know a little bit to much about this stuff."

Ahh in that case, it is wrong I never saw that one. Case closed.

[Nightshade]

lol MKJ

The real answer is that the faster you go, the more effective mass you have, thus requiring more and more energy to go faster. To accelerate to the speed of light, you need infinite energy. It doesn't have anything to do with fucking up the timeline.

DING!

[MKJ]

lol MKJ

:icon32: it was a nice collection of syllables, no?

[Fender]

I guess...

[xer0s]

I think magnets will have something to do with traveling fast...

[ek]

hey guys i found this amazing book about the speed of light, lets discuss it to detail, and then i'll try and find more amazing books.

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Rrg ... ght&pgis=1

[tnf]

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... /tdil.html

That's what I teach this from.

[SplishSplash]

BTW forget all this "proof" that nothing can travel faster than light. We've moved beyond that.

Sure, if all you have is a really big rocket, it's true. But that's kinda like saying "Humans will never be able to fly because nobody can possibly run fast enough for takeoff!"

[Grudge]

travelling without moving

[seremtan]

need spice for that

[seremtan]

BTW forget all this "proof" that nothing can travel faster than light. We've moved beyond that.

Sure, if all you have is a really big rocket, it's true. But that's kinda like saying "Humans will never be able to fly because nobody can possibly run fast enough for takeoff!"

speaking from somewhere "beyond" the laws of physics, how do you envisage this happening, professor?

[Foo]

Why does he have to envisage the method of it happening in order to not rule it out?

Your position is as dumb as a cryptographer who believes a particular method is completely infallibla.

[Grudge]

yeah, if God wants to travel faster than light, he'll just goes ahead and does it

[Fjoggs]

why would we want to go there anyway. there's plenty of beer left on earth

[Nightshade]

Fnerrds makes a very compelling argument.

[duffman91]

So how do they do it on Star Trek?

Back where I'm from, we call those "special effects".