spacetime
26-04-2010, 08:49 PM
#1
spacetime
ive always been into space n all stuff associated with it, tried reading S,Hawkins 'brief history of time' and understanding all the strange wonders of the universe. As sad as it seems i find it fascianating , at the moment im trying to get my head round spacetime , i.e time and space are seen to be as 1 , a 4th dimension . the speed of light is constant no matter how fast your travelling , it will always travel away from you at the speed of light. Even if your near that speed yourself. I understand that what we see and experience is relative. I,ll give you a small example in Hawkins book.
Sitting beside the rail track you witness a train travelling at say 100mph , 2 people playing ping pong on the train. Being at the side of the track you see this game and witness lets say 30 yards apart from each time its hit as train passes. The ball would also being travelling at 100mph like the train. And you,d be correct for your observations.
You,d also be correct in saying from a player point of observation that the ball is only travelling a few feet between shots and is at a 0mph (imagine a stationary ball on table for a sec) and your correct too for the same amount of time as seen at the trackside.
A brilliant example of relativity , you will percieve the same event with different results in the same time but both be correct!
Im struggling to get this idea on a bigger scale as its hard to think about . time itself , and the fact you will age slower the faster you travel??? (think thats right) anyone else a bit of a geek for all this , yes ive had a beer
hehe
Mike
Sitting beside the rail track you witness a train travelling at say 100mph , 2 people playing ping pong on the train. Being at the side of the track you see this game and witness lets say 30 yards apart from each time its hit as train passes. The ball would also being travelling at 100mph like the train. And you,d be correct for your observations.
You,d also be correct in saying from a player point of observation that the ball is only travelling a few feet between shots and is at a 0mph (imagine a stationary ball on table for a sec) and your correct too for the same amount of time as seen at the trackside.
A brilliant example of relativity , you will percieve the same event with different results in the same time but both be correct!
Im struggling to get this idea on a bigger scale as its hard to think about . time itself , and the fact you will age slower the faster you travel??? (think thats right) anyone else a bit of a geek for all this , yes ive had a beer
hehe Mike
26-04-2010, 09:16 PM
#2
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ive always been into space n all stuff associated with it, tried reading S,Hawkins 'brief history of time' and understanding all the strange wonders of the universe. As sad as it seems i find it fascianating , at the moment im trying to get my head round spacetime , i.e time and space are seen to be as 1 , a 4th dimension . the speed of light is constant no matter how fast your travelling , it will always travel away from you at the speed of light. Even if your near that speed yourself. I understand that what we see and experience is relative. I,ll give you a small example in Hawkins book.
Sitting beside the rail track you witness a train travelling at say 100mph , 2 people playing ping pong on the train. Being at the side of the track you see this game and witness lets say 30 yards apart from each time its hit as train passes. The ball would also being travelling at 100mph like the train. And you,d be correct for your observations.
You,d also be correct in saying from a player point of observation that the ball is only travelling a few feet between shots and is at a 0mph (imagine a stationary ball on table for a sec) and your correct too for the same amount of time as seen at the trackside.
A brilliant example of relativity , you will percieve the same event with different results in the same time but both be correct!
Im struggling to get this idea on a bigger scale as its hard to think about . time itself , and the fact you will age slower the faster you travel??? (think thats right) anyone else a bit of a geek for all this , yes ive had a beer hehe
Mike
Sitting beside the rail track you witness a train travelling at say 100mph , 2 people playing ping pong on the train. Being at the side of the track you see this game and witness lets say 30 yards apart from each time its hit as train passes. The ball would also being travelling at 100mph like the train. And you,d be correct for your observations.
You,d also be correct in saying from a player point of observation that the ball is only travelling a few feet between shots and is at a 0mph (imagine a stationary ball on table for a sec) and your correct too for the same amount of time as seen at the trackside.
A brilliant example of relativity , you will percieve the same event with different results in the same time but both be correct!
Im struggling to get this idea on a bigger scale as its hard to think about . time itself , and the fact you will age slower the faster you travel??? (think thats right) anyone else a bit of a geek for all this , yes ive had a beer
hehe Mike
Special Relativity works fine for everything macroscopic and is fairly simplistic. If you want a real head fuck try Quantum physics .... In particular try to understand Quantum Entanglement. It is an observable phenomenon which can be replicated time and time again which contridicts Einstien's theory that nothing is capable of exceeding the speed of light.
Short and sharp of things is that humans as a collective know practically nothing about how things work, all we have are theories.
26-04-2010, 09:16 PM
#3
PassionFord Post Whore!!
there is also a train of thought that you will never hit the speed of light, as with speed, the heavier you get, so the only way you can travel at the speed of light is if you have no mass. end of, unless through a worm hole, which in ecsence is bending space.
IE: if you draw a line from a dot to dot on a piece of paper it will take you x amount of time to get from *a to b* but if you bend the piece of paper then traveling from *a to b* will be less.
IE: if you draw a line from a dot to dot on a piece of paper it will take you x amount of time to get from *a to b* but if you bend the piece of paper then traveling from *a to b* will be less.
26-04-2010, 09:19 PM
#4
PassionFord Post Whore!!
26-04-2010, 09:29 PM
#5
wow thats not a reply i expected , top info there guys , nice...
so light isnt constant? and not the fastest form of travel?
Anyhow i keep thinking about if two twins etc parted, one stayed one went far lol they,d age differently ? I understand time being warped , spacetime itself is warped due to massive gravitional forces produced by us, the planets, our star the sun.
i get lost at worm holes , is this a result of blackhole etc?
cheers for response
Mike
so light isnt constant? and not the fastest form of travel?
Anyhow i keep thinking about if two twins etc parted, one stayed one went far lol they,d age differently ? I understand time being warped , spacetime itself is warped due to massive gravitional forces produced by us, the planets, our star the sun.
i get lost at worm holes , is this a result of blackhole etc?
cheers for response
Mike
26-04-2010, 09:34 PM
#7
although I love anything about the universe, getting your head around it is frustrating.
Given the choice of a continued life on this earth, against knowing and see all and it's creation to it's end, hhhmmm, that would be a difficult one.
Given the choice of a continued life on this earth, against knowing and see all and it's creation to it's end, hhhmmm, that would be a difficult one.
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26-04-2010, 09:44 PM
#8
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What really gets me is this: I can comprehend that everything that exists in the universe was once all located at an infinitesimal small single point, the point of the 'big bang' but that there was nothing outside of that point, so even if we could go back in time and possibly observe the creation of the universe from a safe distance, there is nowhere to stand, it simply does not exist!
I can handle the universe expanding into something, like empty space, but the theory that there was nothing is hard for me to grasp. The thinking is that our universe is just one of many repeating expansion then contracting cycles is also comprehendable, but that there is nothing outside of the universe is not, well, not for me
I can handle the universe expanding into something, like empty space, but the theory that there was nothing is hard for me to grasp. The thinking is that our universe is just one of many repeating expansion then contracting cycles is also comprehendable, but that there is nothing outside of the universe is not, well, not for me
26-04-2010, 09:52 PM
#9
seems to be a good subject in terms of knowledege level, no matter what level you can understand its still very interesting .
Going back to the twins example i,ll change that to the 2 special accurate clocks test.
If one was on earth , the other orbiting earth , they will read differently . Why? .
all i can at the moment think is gravity warps spacetime, can this be briefly explained in laymans terms ?
I really should go to bed ,
i shouldn,t of said in OP 'as sad as it seems' sorry guys bad comment !
Mike
Going back to the twins example i,ll change that to the 2 special accurate clocks test.
If one was on earth , the other orbiting earth , they will read differently . Why? .
all i can at the moment think is gravity warps spacetime, can this be briefly explained in laymans terms ?
I really should go to bed ,
i shouldn,t of said in OP 'as sad as it seems' sorry guys bad comment !
Mike
26-04-2010, 10:25 PM
#10
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This is actually the case with current satellites, they have a very small time difference, well I think thats what I read somewhere 
Another good book for the layman is Bill Bryson's 'A brief history of almost everything', well worth a read
Another good book for the layman is Bill Bryson's 'A brief history of almost everything', well worth a read