So what kind of implications does this have? Well, in inertial reference frames, time dilation is an observed effect that causes time in a fast moving object to slow down. So, if there was another planet very far away and it was moving very fast, it would appear to us that clock on that planet would tick very slowly. If there was life on that planet, it would appear that life would grow very slowly. The same would be true of us from their perspective. This is pretty cool, because if aliens tried to sneak up on us, they might think we were sloths, but when they get here they would see that we move quickly. Unless they know about relativity and took it into account. Here's to hoping Einstein was the smartest person/thing ever.
Showing posts with label space-time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space-time. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
My Unfounded Theories 3: Distant Aliens Think We Move Slowly Due To Special Relativity
So what kind of implications does this have? Well, in inertial reference frames, time dilation is an observed effect that causes time in a fast moving object to slow down. So, if there was another planet very far away and it was moving very fast, it would appear to us that clock on that planet would tick very slowly. If there was life on that planet, it would appear that life would grow very slowly. The same would be true of us from their perspective. This is pretty cool, because if aliens tried to sneak up on us, they might think we were sloths, but when they get here they would see that we move quickly. Unless they know about relativity and took it into account. Here's to hoping Einstein was the smartest person/thing ever.
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Monday, December 12, 2011
My Unfounded Theories 2: Where does the time go?
So, how's the space-time continuum been treating you lately? This is my standard greeting when I'm feeling a little bit pompous. Well, time is pretty crazy when you think about it. It's the fourth dimension, it's the first non-spatial one (the second one is possibilities? Ah, who knows), but mathematically it can pretty much just be lumped with the spatial ones. People have pondered about what time is for all of humanity, so don't expect a definitive conclusion from this post. The problem seems to be that we really have no way of probing time. For probing space, we have things like the LHC and telescopes, but nothing of the like for time. We know it slows down as you move faster thanks to that Einstein, but not much else. Are we just moving along one time-path in a sea of infinite, or even finite, possible time paths? Do our decisions dictate our path, or is it predetermined? And this is the problem. Thinking about time gets speculative very quickly, and it is tough to reel back in.
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