a brief history - SWH

[Fr0st2k]

"... at 10 percent of the speed of light an object's mass is only 0.5 percent more than normal, while at 90 percent of the speed of light it would be more than twice its normal mass. As an object approaches the speed of light, its mass rises ever more quickly, so it takes more and more energy to speed it up further. It can in fact never reach the speed of light, because by then its mass would have become infinite, and by the equivalence of mass and energy, it would have taken an infinite amount of energy to get it there. For this reason, any normal object is forever confined by relativity to move at speeds slower than the speed of light. Only light, or other waves that have no intrinsic mass, can move at the speed of light. 21 "

i dunno about this, i was trying to find some stuff on the internet about steven hawkings book because someone told me about it in another post(just temporary until i can go to the library and take it out) but i came to this paragraph. in an earlier post someone told me about zenos theory. now, relating that idea to that paragraph, doesnt it mean that we could make something go the spead of light, because even though it would be infinite, it should eventually catch up despite what it seems...

 

[MoonlessNight]

Zeno's paradox operates on the assumption that an infinite series of additions cannot equal a finite number. This is defies common sense and is also both logically and mathematically false. However, this is not what we're seeing here.


For motion, a force is required, and for acceleration the force is going to have to be applied over a period of time (and hence a distance, since the object will be in motion). To do this, you'll need energy (simple enough, since energy is just the ability to do work.) The more mass you have, the bigger the force that must be applied and hence a greater energy requirement results. As an object speeds up it gains mass, which is not noticiable at low velocities, but as the object approaches the speed of light it will gain a great deal of mass. In fact, if it every reached the speed of light, its mass would be infinite. Therefore we would need an infinite force to get it to that velocity, and consequently, an infinite amount of energy. But it is impossible to get an infinite amount energy, so the speed of light is unnattainable.

 

[Fr0st2k]

if zenos paradox is false, what about d the "proof that god doesnt exist" topic i made awhile ago? does that mean its right?

anyway maybe i interpretted zenos theory wrong or read the wrong thing. but the way i saw it, it talked about a rabbit and a turtle or something , lets use an arrow cause i think that idea makes more sense... anyway if you shoot an arrow at a target it will hit it, but if you cut the distance traveled in half everytime, it technically wont it it....like the energy needed to move the speed of light. but it does hit the target...so shouldnt the mass hit the target speed?

 

[MoonlessNight]

I'm haven't read your topic, so I don't know what the implications of any of this are on it.

As for the paradox it works like this: if you cut the distance in half every time, it still hits the target. Why? Because a sum of infinite numbers can equal a finite number. I could do a calculus proof to falsify Zeno's paradox, but I have the feeling that you haven't taken Calculus (since this idea is pretty fundamental to the notion of Integrals), so I'll make it simple. Take out a calculator and enter one-half. Add a fourth to that. Add an eighth to that, and so on to your heart's content. Notice how even though the number's increasing, but at a slower and slower rate?In fact, do you notice that after a while the first positions to the right of the decimal point don't change at all anymore? Eventually you will get a long series of nines to the right of the decimal point. The longer you continue, the more nines you get. If you could some how continue indefinatly you would get an infinite series of nine, which is the same thing as one, so the whole series adds up to one, even though you added an infinite amount of numbers.

Approaching the speed of light is not the same matter. The energy required is not a sum, and it is not increasing at a slower and slower rate. In fact, it is increasing at a faster and faster rate. If you looked at a graph of speed versus mass, just before you reached the speed of light the mass would be close to a vertical line, and you would see that the function would never actually get to the speed of light. But the vertical line that it approaches is at the speed of light, so we can say that if the function DID reach the speed of light, the mass would be infinite. So infinite mass would equals infinite energy, therefore, no traveling at the speed of light.