- #1
jfraze
- 7
- 0
I know this is a stupid question but I can't figure out how to get an answer. I'm trying to figure out if the rules of relativity force a limit on the velocities of two objects in relation to each other. Just as a thought experiment, if a spaceship is traveling at 186,281 miles per second over a finite distance from point A to point B, and fires a missile at 1 mile per second relative to itself, that missile should be traveling at 186,282 miles per second relative to points A and B, which is not possible. So would relativity actually prevent the hypothetical missile from traveling at 1 mile per second relative to the hypothetical spaceship? (To take it further, what if the spaceship were traveling 186,281.999999 miles per second... the fastest it could fire a missile, relative to itself, would have to be less than .000001 miles per second. It seems observers on the spaceship would see that missile barely creeping away from them, even relative to their own spacetime.) My best guess on a solution is that since time is compressed for the observers on the spaceship, the missile might be able to travel at 1 mile per second according their experience of what a "second" is, but would still be less than the speed of light relative to points A and B. I may be off on the wrong track with that, though.
OK, you can commence mocking me now.
OK, you can commence mocking me now.