End of the Universe Part Two

[RoadClosed]

Energy = Mass * Speed of Light ^ 2

Kinetic energy = 1/2 mass * velocity ^2.

And I repeat, people thought that going faster than sound. Indeed, for a while people believed that going faster than 30mph would cause severe brain damage. We used to think the earth was flat. We used to think the atom was the smallest possible thing. People used to think that 640k was enough memory.

Thinking things can go faster than light doesn't make it so. Until disproved it is reality and it certainly doesn't explain everything. But in 100 years no one has been able to. And unlike the past, where a belief in something made it so, many have tried through various experiments. In this example space has no mass therefore the E=MC^2 (the Theory of Relativity) remains intact.

As for sound no one had a mathematical proven theory that said it was impossible. But I agree anything is possible. Even god. And the Quantum Universe we continually unravel might make it so.

[steve.milner]

In my limited understanding, it only the speed of light that is unatainable. Faster than light speeds are theoretically possible.

But someone who know Relativity better than I do can comment.

Steve

[MURACU]

didn't i see somewhere that they slowed down light to 30 miles an hour in some experimant using exotic matter?
edit found the story i read it was on the bbc website on the 24 of february 2000 . I knew i read it somewhere. here is the link :http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/655518.stm.

[RoadClosed]

Interesting that they shot light through a Bose Einstein conduit. When the first one was created in the great magnificent state of Colorado I thought, cool stuff wonder what we'll use it for. Manipulating the speed of light to such an extreme variance has to be some kind of breakthrough. But even simple prism slows light down. The speed of light is only constant in the vacuum of space.

[RoadClosed]

In my limited understanding, it only the speed of light that is unatainable. Faster than light speeds are theoretically possible.

The issues is accelerating to the speed of light or even near it. So it may be possible to travel faster but you have to solve the accelaration problem, that is how to get it up to speed. E=MC^2 basically says it will take all the energy(E) in the universe to accellerate a mass(M) to C, the speed of light. That is we can never generate enough energy to reach the speed. When you increase the energy the mass increases which requires more energy which increases mass which requires more energy which... as you can see get's problematic because the mass of a body is actually a measure of it's energy content.

[bballad]

RoadClosed: ahh but some particals may just move faster then light, there is some (contriversial) experimental evidence for particals moving at past light speed.

then there is the qhole quantum entanglement effcts...spookie stuff, and feeds into thories that distiance is an illusion, if distance is an illusion then so is speed.

[RoadClosed]

feeds into thories that distiance is an illusion, if distance is an illusion then so is speed.

That is true but from our reference the illusion still complies with those limitations. The whole scope of the universe could be an illusion. I don't deny there is something there we just can't grasp yet. And when we do, watch out. **** is gonna hit the fan.

[foxyloxley]

E=MC^2

very nice Albert ..............
But where's your workings out

I personally would leave it all to the Disney imagineers, and Hollywood SFX guru's as they seem to come up with plausable explanations as to how we utilise said technology, and the consequences of travelling at SOL - ie -
you cant see the star until you have already hit it ..........

maybe there's a bloody good reason WHY we can't explain / advance any further using science

so lets try Fantasy, and as said elsewhere, advanced technology IS indistinguishable from magic, so lets go down that route

[ShagDevil]

We can travel faster than light - it's called PLAID.

Dark Helmet: What's the matter with this thing? What's with all that churning and bubbling? You call that a Radar Screen?
Colonel Sandurz: No sir, we call it Mr. Coffee. Care for some?
Dark Helmet: I always have coffee when I watch radar, you know that!
Colonel Sandurz: Of course I do, sir.
Dark Helmet: Everybody knows that!
All the henchmen in the room: Of course we do, sir!
Dark Helmet: Now that I have my coffee I'm ready to watch radar. Where is it?
Colonel Sandurz: Right here, sir.

[gore]

My Fiancee made me watch that movie... She Loves that stuff.