OT: Alien Contact

ZeroAdunn · #1 February 26th, 2003, 10:52 PM

Wow... this thread is a hotplate ready to explode. Nice to see nobody stepping on anybody elses toes though.

Fyron is quite the skeptic. Amazing isn't it?

As for faster then light, you could travel faster then light, because light has variable velocity and as such you just slow down some light.....

Yah, I know, it is stupid but I had to say it.

As for science, remember this is current science we talk about, there was a time when current science told us the world was flat (I love cliches) We can't really talk about the future in certainties because nobody, unless your phsycic, in which case, what are next weeks lotery numbers?

Fyron · #2 February 26th, 2003, 10:56 PM

What light has variable velocity?

rdouglass · #3 February 26th, 2003, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
What light has variable velocity?

I thought all light has variable velocity - it depends on the medium. That is the whole principle behind a prism IIRC....

Aloofi · #4 February 26th, 2003, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
There is a world of difference between the limits of the sound barrier and the speed of light.

Yeah, I agree.
If the research of "faster than sound" would be 5K research points then the research of "Faster than Light" would be somwhere around 5B.
Who knows, maybe there are other barriers before the speed of light. Or maybe the speed of light is not a barrier. One thing is sure, we are light years away from an engine that come even close.

Wardad · #5 February 26th, 2003, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
I'm sure there are a lot of wacky crackpots trying to literally accelerate past C, at the moment...

One Word: C++

Fyron · #6 February 26th, 2003, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rdouglass:

quote:
Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
What light has variable velocity?

I thought all light has variable velocity - it depends on the medium. That is the whole principle behind a prism IIRC....

No, light has constant velocity. Different wavelengths travel at marginally different speeds, but it is all constant. Light seeming to slow down in water and such is an optical illusion.

Fyron · #7 February 26th, 2003, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aloofi:

quote:
Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
There is a world of difference between the limits of the sound barrier and the speed of light.

Yeah, I agree.
If the research of "faster than sound" would be 5K research points then the research of "Faster than Light" would be somwhere around 5B.
Who knows, maybe there are other barriers before the speed of light. Or maybe the speed of light is not a barrier. One thing is sure, we are light years away from an engine that come even close.

Going the speed of light requires infinite energy and gives you infinite mass. Also, the closer you get to the speed of light (as you are not a sub-sub atomic particle), the slower you go in relation to the rest of the universe. This is because time seems to slow down for you, while the rest of the universe goes along at its normal rate. You would see yourself going really fast, but an outside observer in a stationary reference frame (such as the universe) would see you going slower and slower.