Re: Tech building

In article <1158250363.787705.275550@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
crumjd@xxxxxxxxx says...

I could be way out in left field here; I'm working without
references. But, as I recall, special relativity says that as you
approach the speed of light your mass increases (mass dilation) thus it
takes more energy to accelerate you. At light speed your mass, and the
energy required to accelerate you, are both infinite thus you can never
reach the speed of light. However, gravity accelerates all masses
equally so a gravitational accelerator shouldn't care how heavy you
get. I thought that's why black holes were postulated to exist in
the first place: their acceleration is so high that at some point
before you reach the surface you'd be going faster then light and
obviously nothing can return from beyond that point.

Usenet relativity FAQ:
< http://www2.corepower.com:8080/~relfaq/relativity.html >

...gives a good primer on special and general relativity.

Of course there are good reasons to doubt the plausibility of
Alcubierre warp drives etc. They tend to be based on ignoring
considerations from all physics other than general relativity. General
relativity conflicts with quantum mechanics, and the smart money is on
the latter winning the day - something's going to give in general
relativity, perhaps a lot more than its devoted students imagine.

But that's no reason to avoid them in SF, of course.

- Gerry Quinn
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What is the " ACTUAL " length ?
    ... rods in the calorimeter and the center of mass of the collision (and ... particle distribution) have relative motion. ... of a system was when he generated his theory of relativity. ... you compare the length of a rod against markings of a ruler in two ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Comparisons between SR and LET.
    ... >> relationship between the effective masses due to forces and inertial mass. ... Noether's theorem is _specifically_ a theorem based on invariance. ... >I agree that in certain directions relativity is more restrictive. ... mechanical interpretation of identical particles is blatantly incompatible ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Comparisons between SR and LET.
    ... > must make identical predictions. ... > let them assert that LET and special relativity must be identical ... >>> mass, weak mass and strong mass, much less defining it all as inertial ... to the universality of the ether in GLET. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: THE GENERAL RELATIVITY.
    ... At the page 68 of his book Relativity Einstein writes about the General ... conditions required by the fundamental law of Galilei. ... THE INERTIAL AND GRAVITATIONAL MASS ... If now gravitation is the cause of the acceleration, ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Relativistic Lagrangian and limitations of field theory
    ... Potential energy in Einstein's 1905 Relativity ... mass concept. ... In his work about _Gravitation and Light_, ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)