Is it impossible to separate a distance of 1light hour in space?

In summary, the original poster argues that it is impossible to separate a distance of 1light hour in space.
  • #1
Trojan666ru
104
0
Is it impossible to separate a distance of "1light hour" in space?

i was having a debate with a guy on a site and he argues it is impossible to separate such a distance in space.
Suppose two observers A & B they are relatively at rest, A wish to do an experiment so A & B moves apart by sending laser signals, after a huge amount of time, they slows down their speed to get accurate measuremet, A continuously sends a laser beam to B and B does the same. A notices that a laser beam sent to B took exactly 2 hours to return, which means A is now exactly 1 light hour distant apart. B also does this, so B also concludes that he is exactly 1 light hour away from A. They does this until finally they became relatively at rest to each other
Or do they disagree?
When A Calculates exact 1 light hour distance, won't that be 1lhr for B??
His argument was when one of the observers calculate his distance, the other won't get the same measurement because of different frames
Is his argument correct?
Is there really no way to separate a distance in space?
Even i tried saying there is a 1lhr long nebula between these two observers, still he won't agree
 
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  • #2
I see nothing wrong with your argument. You have specified a valid way to separate two observers by one light hour.
 
  • #3
It is important to be at rest relative to each other (you can check this via Doppler shifts, for example). If you are, you can measure the distance easily, and both will agree on the value. If you are moving slowly, the measurements will look a bit different, but you can still approach the final state of zero relative velocity.
 
  • #4
There has been a misunderstanding of the conditions of the experiment, the original question was:

"Consider an object 'O' is traveling towards me at 90% speed of light which is placed at 1hr c away ...".

The distance in the object's frame depends on when it is measured which wasn't specified.
 
  • #5
GeorgeDishman said:
There has been a misunderstanding of the conditions of the experiment, the original question was:

"Consider an object 'O' is traveling towards me at 90% speed of light which is placed at 1hr c away ...".

The distance in the object's frame depends on when it is measured which wasn't specified.

You seem to be addressing something from some other thread. What you quoted isn't here.
 
  • #6
phinds said:
You seem to be addressing something from some other thread. What you quoted isn't here.

The original post starts "i was having a debate with a guy on a site ...". I was that guy, the quote is from the other site (a Facebook group). The poster linked this thread in the original thread.
 
  • #7
Let's continue the discussion in this thread, two threads for the same topic are bad.
 

Related to Is it impossible to separate a distance of 1light hour in space?

1. How long is 1 light hour in space?

1 light hour is equivalent to 9.461 trillion kilometers or 5.878 trillion miles.

2. Why is it impossible to separate a distance of 1 light hour in space?

This is because the speed of light, which is the fastest known speed in the universe, is 299,792,458 meters per second. This means that it would take 1 hour for light to travel a distance of 1 light hour, making it impossible to physically separate a distance of 1 light hour in space.

3. Can we ever overcome the speed of light and separate a distance of 1 light hour?

Based on our current understanding of physics, it is highly unlikely that we will ever be able to overcome the speed of light and thus, separate a distance of 1 light hour in space.

4. How far can we currently separate a distance in space?

With current technology, we are able to separate distances of up to a few light years in space. This is still a very small distance compared to the vastness of the universe.

5. Is there a limit to how far we can separate a distance in space?

It is still unknown if there is a limit to how far we can separate a distance in space. The universe is constantly expanding and new technologies and discoveries may allow us to explore and travel even further in the future.

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