Debate with regards to time and FTL travel

In summary, the conversation discusses the potential limitations of time and space travel, including the effects of traveling at or near the speed of light, the concept of time as a particle or property of energy, and the possibility of manipulating the zero point field to travel at faster-than-light speeds. The role of the Higgs boson and universal expansion is also mentioned. The speaker suggests that further research and mathematical representation is necessary to fully understand and utilize these concepts.
  • #1
StealthC
7
0
I figured this might spark some interesting debate with regards to time and FTL travel.
First off if you were traveling at or near the speed of light wouldn't your body be stretched out thin like a noodle, so much so, that your stretched pencil shaped blood vessels would have trouble fitting through your slit shaped veins.
I think the strain of traveling at such a speed would seem to lower this cap on speed. Thinking realistically we would be doomed to traveling at a dismal pace, we would never hit any corner of the universe within it's lifespan.
With that said now we must consider that perhaps the only way to beat this even more strict limitation IS to travel at faster than the speed of light, but one cannot do that without violating causality, or can they?

Some people have thought that time is a particle, a tachyon and while the idea seems nice what need would there be for a carrier particle for this? What if it were a basic property of the most elemental units of energy that there is. When energy interacts with energy then you get a result that causes time to exist; if no interaction, then no need for time.

Time unfolds with the rest of the universe, and the fast that you go the slower that time is relative to slower moving objects. This at first seems a little counter-intuitive but thinking about it what if time were slowing itself down to accommodate all those events and to make the universe contiguous? Think about what would happen if time sped up with velocity, does that make any sense? Or what would happen if you weren't moving at all relative to anything?

Consider the following scenario:
You are at point A and it is raining outside, and you would like to get to point B. You must decide on a velocity, however, you would rather get the least wet. Unfortunately the rain is falling at the same rate no matter when you leave and will continue to do so until you reach point B. You could walk there, and gradually get wet, or you could run there and get wet quickly, but when you arrive either way you will get equally as wet. Each drop hitting you is like an event, your basic form of energy, yet it is not being pulled by gravity alone but complicated eddies that exist even within the vacuum of space. These droplets hit the droplets that make you up. The droplets inside of you hit each other all the time.

Now consider that you are in space, and in a vacuum, applying this principle to your movement through even a vacuum, and you now understand why time for you relative to slower moving objects is the way that it is, it runs slower for you.

If the universe were a vast; but infinitely complicated computer simulation, it could run on ANY computer even if power were limited if storage were sufficient to represent all the universal data and if time were so accomodating. If you handle time any other way, thinking about this, the simulation would be chaotic and impossible to reproduce; even on a vastly smaller scale.

If you know what is responsible for time, then you are discovering a possible avenue for travel. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you could propel a vessel by manipulating the zero point field, that being said that's exactly what must be done, or even at a much lower level, but essentially you want to thin this field that you are traveling through so that time does not slow to accommodate. You could create an artificial field inside the vessel to eliminate any weird effects like spaghettification and time dilation provided that it is isolated from the movement of the vessel. The way to do this is to essentially have the ship shovel the field around the hull somehow (not saying that I know everything) and this would have two actions:
1)The ship would be propelled by the cosmic expansion, it would go very fast very quickly, as there would no longer be the resistance on the front of the vessel (it would be sheered away). This is the very same thing that is responsible for it taking something like half the energy to get to 80% of the speed of light vs. 99.9%, it is multiplicative and goes to infinity by our calculations so that you could put an infinite amount of energy into the process, but NEVER reach the speed of light.
2)Time would no longer be unfolding in the same fashion, it would unfold quite differently for you if given an isolated and completely controlled environment oblivious to these localized field changes and faster velocities, so you can pick how fast you want time to go depending on technological limitations. You would technically, and relative to earth, be traveling at faster than the speed of light.

I suspect without this field you wouldn't be alive after that trip, but indeed if an artificial field were created, contained and isolated within the vessel then it is very possible that you could survive. This field plays with the elementary bonds between particles, atoms, etc. Meddling with that could really screw with your functioning body.

Aside from that there are a bunch of firm believers of the higgs bozon, and perhaps that is true because of the fact that there is more than just gravity, because gravity alone spells out a big crunch. Universal expansion (and whatever Hubble seems to be detecting) seem to be an anti-gravity of sorts (but not in a traditional way of thinking, you cannot use this in your sneakers and float around all over the place, rofl).

Now does anybody think that this could be easily represented in math, since I am not the greatest at math? I'll study the math and do it myself, but keeping an open mind I am certain that there's a way to make this fit in with everything else...
 
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  • #2
I am not sure to understand everything... :rolleyes: :confused:

But there is something that seems obviously wrong to me : when your speed increase, a distant observer at rest will see your length in the direction of the movement decreasing. But your own perception won't notice anything. Inside the spaceship, you feel no change in size. On the contrary, it appears to you that the observer at rest shrinks ! Therefore, this :
StealthC said:
your stretched pencil shaped blood vessels would have trouble fitting through your slit shaped veins
does not old.

By the same token, your clock seems late to an external observer. But you see the external clock late too. This :
StealthC said:
Now consider that you are in space, and in a vacuum, applying this principle to your movement through even a vacuum, and you now understand why time for you relative to slower moving objects is the way that it is, it runs slower for you.
looks questionable.

This is only special relativity. Mabe in a full general relativity context, you can recover something out of your ideas. :smile:
 
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  • #3


Wow, this is a very interesting and thought-provoking topic. There are definitely a lot of different theories and ideas surrounding time and FTL travel. One thing that stands out to me in this discussion is the concept of time being a particle, or a tachyon. This is definitely a unique and intriguing idea, and I can see how it could potentially tie in with the concept of FTL travel.

However, I also think it's important to consider the limitations and consequences of traveling at such high speeds. As you mentioned, the strain on the human body and the potential for time dilation are significant factors to consider. It's also interesting to think about the possibility of manipulating the zero point field in order to achieve FTL travel. This could potentially solve some of the issues with time dilation and physical strain, but as you pointed out, it could also have some dangerous consequences if not done correctly.

Overall, I think it's important to continue exploring and discussing these ideas and theories surrounding time and FTL travel. Who knows, maybe one day we will discover a way to effectively and safely travel faster than the speed of light. Until then, it's definitely a fascinating topic to ponder and debate.
 

Related to Debate with regards to time and FTL travel

What is the debate about time and FTL travel?

The debate about time and FTL (faster than light) travel revolves around the possibility and implications of traveling faster than the speed of light. It raises questions about the nature of time, the laws of physics, and the limitations of our current understanding of the universe.

Is FTL travel possible?

There is currently no scientific evidence or technology that suggests FTL travel is possible. The laws of physics, particularly Einstein's theory of relativity, suggest that it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light. However, some theories, such as wormholes and warp drive, propose ways to bypass this limitation, but they are still hypothetical and have not been proven.

What are the potential consequences of FTL travel?

If FTL travel were possible, it could have significant consequences on our understanding of time and space. It could also open up possibilities for interstellar travel and exploration, but it could also have unforeseen consequences and dangers. The potential for paradoxes and altering the timeline of events is also a concern in the debate.

How does FTL travel relate to time dilation?

According to the theory of relativity, as an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down for that object. This is known as time dilation. FTL travel would require an object to travel faster than the speed of light, which could result in significant time dilation effects. This raises questions about the consequences of traveling through time and how it would affect the traveler and the timeline of events.

What advancements in technology and science would be needed for FTL travel to become a reality?

Currently, our understanding of physics and technology is not advanced enough to make FTL travel possible. In order for it to become a reality, we would need to make significant advancements in areas such as propulsion systems, energy sources, and understanding the nature of space and time. It is a topic of ongoing research and debate in the scientific community.

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