Strategy guide? - Page 4

a philistine · #31 February 28th, 2001, 12:51 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
If you could use a linear accelerator to fire a normal matter squirrel into an anti-matter squirrel at .99C, would you get an additional kinetic energy component to the explosion? What are the relativistic effects of a near-light-speed squirrel, anyway?

Well, (from the reference frame of the shooter) he'd be about 7 times as heavy, about 7 times shorter (in the axis of his travel) and he'd impact a stationary object with a kinetic energy equal to 130 megatons (assuming the rather well-fed, 1 KG squirrel)--about six times the energy that would be gained by converting the squirrel's mass to energy.

Just as an aside, the kinetic energy of an object is equal to the "conVersion" energy of the mass of an object at about .87c.

Load up your squirrels...

--A Philistine

(EDIT--fixed a math error in the KE=ConVersion calc.

)

[This message has been edited by a philistine (edited 01 March 2001).]

dmm · #32 February 28th, 2001, 01:23 AM

So, you DON'T need an antimatter squirrel to get a huge bLast. Just get it going at a good fraction of the speed of light. Try 0.999c for starters. (Kids, don't try this at home. You might blow up the Earth.)

Also, I am shocked, SHOCKED, that no one has pointed out the inhumane nature of these experiments in regard to the effects on the squirrel.

dmm · #33 February 28th, 2001, 01:26 AM

On topic:
Use overwhelming force. Concentrate your fire.

David Robinson · #34 February 28th, 2001, 03:08 AM

I always thought that Mr. E was stating that to get energy(ie: the mushroom cloud) out of any mass you would have to accelerate it to the speed of light squared. How would you get a squirrl to move that fast? A REALLY big nut? (Hey... What are all those squirrels
doing at my window?)

Kadste · #35 February 28th, 2001, 03:13 AM

"Use overwhelming force. Concentrate your fire."

Does this mean a large number of small squirrels, or a small number of large squirrels.

What would be the preferred launching platform? A Duc or APB or?

Darwin · #36 February 28th, 2001, 06:12 AM

No, you need some outside way to change the entire mass of the object in question (squirrel) into pure energy to use that equation. The equation simply tells you exactly how much energy would be produced if you could change a squirrel into energy (as others have stated you would need 1kg of antimatter to do this.)

You can't accelarate a squirrel to the speed of light squared becuase matter cannot reach the speed of light and nothing can exhead it. In this case the speed of light is just being used as a number not as a speed. Why it works out to exactly the speed of light squared is one of those quantum physic things that I don't know.

DirectorTsaarx · #37 February 28th, 2001, 04:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Darwin:
You can't accelarate a squirrel to the speed of light squared becuase matter cannot reach the speed of light and nothing can exhead it. In this case the speed of light is just being used as a number not as a speed. Why it works out to exactly the speed of light squared is one of those quantum physic things that I don't know.

Well, we can't do this with current technology; there's some dissent on this matter in the physics community. I found an article not too long ago that mentioned an experiment where a particle was accelerated beyond the speed of light. HOWEVER (and this is a tricky point), scientists still believe INFORMATION cannot travel faster than light. So the particle can be accelerated and do damage, but it can't be used to provide FTL communication.

As for the speed of light being an important constant, it happens to be the speed of all electromagnetic waves; and, scientists believe, the speed of all forces in general. In other words, when a particle exerts a force on another particle, that force travels at 3x10^8 meters per second between the particles.

BTW - I'm posting this in a new thread, so we can stop cluttering up "Strategy" with "Theoretical Physics"...

Suicide Junkie · #38 February 28th, 2001, 07:41 PM

I don't think so. If a particle could move faster than light, you could just write information on it, and info would be going the same speed.

Besides, the information 'I hate you and you're gonna die now' would reach the guy who got hit by that particle faster than light.

Alpha Kodiak · #39 February 28th, 2001, 09:42 PM

You are all forgetting the ultimate squirrel launcher... Bulwinkle!

PvK · #40 June 28th, 2002, 05:12 AM

E=MC^2 is for total matter->energy conVersion, but that is not what happens in a thermonuclear explosion. You only get E=MC^2 in something like a matter-antimatter reaction.

PvK