Einsteins theory of relativity

[JayMiranti]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So i was watching the discovery channel today, this program on gallileo and einstein and netwon and hawking, and they were talking about einsteins theory of relativity....and there was one thing i dont understand and i was hoping someone could clear it up for me...

According to the show, as an object travels at or near the speed of light, time slows down, and they showed a graphic of a clock ticking slower as it rode a light wave... I dont get why this happens? Why would the clock ever stop beating off rhythm regardless of how fast it is traveling? Why does time slow down when you go faster? And, does time slow down as we on earth travel faster, but its just so miniscule, since we arent traveling even close to the speed of light, that we cant notice it?

Any help appreciated, thanks...

 

[kinetic]

The clock itself doesn't slow down; it slows down relative to people watching it who are not traveling at the speed of light.

 

[Tas]

and we don't notice it on earth b/c you must be very near the speed of light to detect the difference.

 

[exmike]

So i was watching the discovery channel today, this program on gallileo and einstein and netwon and hawking, and they were talking about einsteins theory of relativity....and there was one thing i dont understand and i was hoping someone could clear it up for me...

According to the show, as an object travels at or near the speed of light, time slows down, and they showed a graphic of a clock ticking slower as it rode a light wave... I dont get why this happens? Why would the clock ever stop beating off rhythm regardless of how fast it is traveling? Why does time slow down when you go faster? And, does time slow down as we on earth travel faster, but its just so miniscule, since we arent traveling even close to the speed of light, that we cant notice it?

Any help appreciated, thanks...

Theoretically if you flew around the world fast enough (ie near the speed of light) you could essentially stop time while time progresses on earth. It would be like traveling forward in time.

 

[synapse lapse]

Look up time dilation in your physics book chapter on relativity.

 

[Lion-O]

According to the show, as an object travels at or near the speed of light, time slows down, and they showed a graphic of a clock ticking slower as it rode a light wave... I dont get why this happens? Why would the clock ever stop beating off rhythm regardless of how fast it is traveling? Why does time slow down when you go faster?

Amazing, huh? There's no such thing as absolute time (or space)... there's no universal clock sitting somewhere just ticking away. It depends completely on what inertial frame you're in. I'm sure you learned this in physics, but it all stems from one simple observation: the speed of light is constant no matter how fast you are travelling. The only explanation for this is that time and space are relative to the observer (get it, relativity, haha).

 

[WyldeWolf1]

Now, now. We all know that time is constant and light is travelling through ether. Stop filling all these impressionable young minds with your relativity witchcraft, or you'll find yourself at the stake. Mmmmmmm...steak. *drool*

 

[Pinkertinkle]

This has been observed. You take two clocks set exactly the same, fly one around the earth a couple times while the other sits there, the one that's flying will show that less time has passed.

 

[sandeepp]

Think about this..

A Car is travelling at the speed of light, and it turns its lights on...what happens ? 🙄

 

[JayMiranti]

This has been observed. You take two clocks set exactly the same, fly one around the earth a couple times while the other sits there, the one that's flying will show that less time has passed.

thats amazing i never really got that before thanks everyone

so having velocity slows down motion, that is real wierd... the faster you go, the more the slowing effect?

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

thats amazing i never really got that before thanks everyone

so having velocity slows down motion, that is real wierd... the faster you go, the more the slowing effect?

Correct. In fact, many satellites that have been "up" for a long period of time have to be adjusted periodically to the "correct" (earth-bound) time. We're talking lots of significant digits, but it happens.

Interestingly, the speed of light itself is constant.

If I'm in a car going 50 MPH, and you pass me at 100MPH, to me you appear to be going 50 MPH (relative to me).

If I'm in a space ship going 1/2 the speed of light, and you shine a flash light past me, the light appears to be going by me at... the speed of light! (NOT 1/2 the speed of light).

Crazy.

 

[JayMiranti]

so is it kind of like...?

the faster you go, the slower motion you have.. so if you approach the speed of light, you approach stopping motion (time).

but light, for some reason, is always traveling at the same speed relative to the observer, no matter what speed the observer is traveling at.

so basically, time and space are relative, but light is constant?

 

[Lion-O]

the faster you go, the slower motion you have.. so if you approach the speed of light, you approach stopping motion (time).

Yeah, so this of course begs the question, is time completely stopped for photons? Like if you could ride a photon, would the universe seem completely unmoving? Weird stuff.

 

[kinetic]

Yeah, so this of course begs the question, is time completely stopped for photons? Like if you could ride a photon, would the universe seem completely unmoving? Weird stuff.

If the universe is moving to you, you need to stop drinking. 😀

Actually, the answer is yes. At the speed of light (which is approachable but not attainable), time stops.

 

[kinetic]

P.S. It's obvious that Lion-O has exceeded the speed of light and is caught in a time warp. Thundercats? Bad Dudes? Hello, '80s!!

"Thunder thunder ...thunder thunder ...Thundercats! Hooooooo!!!"

 

[HNS]

And here I to that it was: If its not a relative, it doesn't matter.

 

[bewitched1081]

a second is defined by the amount of time it takes light to travel 299792458 meters. therefore, if you are traveling faster than the speed of light or travel 299792458 meters in less than a second, then the second as defined by the speed of light will be "slow."

 

[bewitched1081]

remember! everything is relative except for the speed of light.

And God said, "Let there be light."

 

[kito]

Look at the Lorentz transformations. You will see why this is true.

 

[Lion-O]

P.S. It's obvious that Lion-O has exceeded the speed of light and is caught in a time warp. Thundercats? Bad Dudes? Hello, '80s!!

"Thunder thunder ...thunder thunder ...Thundercats! Hooooooo!!!"

Oh, man, you've caught onto me! Those were the best years of my life. 🙁

 

[jlee9531]

P.S. It's obvious that Lion-O has exceeded the speed of light and is caught in a time warp. Thundercats? Bad Dudes? Hello, '80s!!

"Thunder thunder ...thunder thunder ...Thundercats! Hooooooo!!!"

Thundercats - HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
man that show was good stuff.
just backin lion-o!
haha.

 

[kinetic]

"Snarf snarf"

"Shut up, Snarf!" Whap!

"Snarf snarf"

(Random beating of Snarf by Panthro ensues.)

*******

Don't forget Transformers and GI Joe ("knowing is half the battle ...GI JOE!!!!")

 

[wire]

If you want the equation it's t = to/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2) where to is the time on the ship and t is the time someone views on earth. v is the speed they are travelling and obviously c is the speed of light. if you plug in values for v, you see that t is always greater than to. if someone left on a spaceship travelling at almost the speed of light, he/she would come back to earth much younger than the someone on earth. pretty crazy concept to think about.