Mod Idea: Simulating surfaces -> Borg Technology -> Twinkie Physics -> Worldviews

[dogscoff]

As a side note I recently heard that there is strong evidence to support the fact that C is not as constant as we once thought. Apparently the speed of light has been slowing down slightly over the Last several billion years.

Where did you read this? I only ask because a "C slowing down" theory has been put forward as an argument for creationism. I don't know if that was something made up for that purpose or something they had borrowed from real science. I don't suppose I'd ever find the webpage again, but I read a really funny argument about this theory between a creationist and someone who actually understood science.

[capnq]

As a side note I recently heard that there is strong evidence to support the fact that C is not as constant as we once thought. Apparently the speed of light has been slowing down slightly over the Last several billion years.

Where did you read this?

This may not be what he's thinking of, but it was the most likely candidate Google pulled up: Speed of Light, Other Constants May Change {link}

This also reminded me of another theory, that the gravitational constant G may also decrease over time. Here's a link which mentions that: Interview with Paul Dirac {link}

[Suicide Junkie]

With those FTL energy packets thing;
Imagine a giant ringworld, with a circumference of one light second. So a little smaller than the orbit of the moon.
Put one of those spinning emergency lights in the middle.
Set the light to spin ten times per second.
The spot of light hitting the ringworld will also go around ten times per second.

Now, that ringworld was one light second in circumference, so that spot of light was moving 10 light seconds each second, or 10 times the speed!

No laws of physics broken, no info of physical object moves faster than light.

With the energy pulses thing, you use a bunch of lasers to interfere with each other, and the pattern shifts faster than light.
Its like you had a big crowd of people on the ringworld, and had them stand up to do "the wave" like it was a giant sports arena as the light goes by. Then tell 'em to keep it up and turn off the light. Then unroll the ringworld into a beam.
"The wave" is still moving 10x the speed of light, but really, the movement is an illusion.

[ December 07, 2002, 19:29: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[dogscoff]

but the spot of light is not a physical object that's moving. it's just our perception of it that maks it look like a single moving object...

[QuarianRex]

Originally posted by dogscoff:

quote:

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As a side note I recently heard that there is strong evidence to support the fact that C is not as constant as we once thought. Apparently the speed of light has been slowing down slightly over the Last several billion years.

Where did you read this? I only ask because a "C slowing down" theory has been put forward as an argument for creationism. I don't know if that was something made up for that purpose or something they had borrowed from real science. I don't suppose I'd ever find the webpage again, but I read a really funny argument about this theory between a creationist and someone who actually understood science.

---

I actually saw this as a story on a science news show (or somesuch). Apparently researchers were able to pick up light from a star several billion light years away (and therefore from several billion years ago) and discovered that it was moving faster than C.

It had nothing to do with creationism. In fact, you are the first person from whom I have ever heard of the connection.

Personally I don't see how it could be used to support the Eden paradigm since it would have a negligible effect on our time frame.

Do you remember what the gist of the argument was?

Shang:

We were working under the assumption of instant (and survivable) acceleration of said twinkie. Mainly because the theoretical effects of of acceleration to lightspeed have been fairly well documented and we armchair physicists don't want to break out the calculators (or break a sweat). Besides, the interesting thing is what happens after lightspeed.

[Suicide Junkie]

but the spot of light is not a physical object that's moving. it's just our perception of it that maks it look like a single moving object...

Exactly my point. Its an illusion.

[Kamog]

I actually saw this as a story on a science news show (or somesuch). Apparently researchers were able to pick up light from a star several billion light years away (and therefore from several billion years ago) and discovered that it was moving faster than C.

I wonder how they were able to figure that out. Do you mean that the STAR was moving faster than c, or was the LIGHT from the star moving faster than c? If the light was moving faster than c, was it still moving that fast when it reached us?