Text 46362, 79 rader
Skriven 2007-01-01 23:08:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 46287 av Matt Bedynek (1:106/1)
Ärende: America
===============
Hello Matt!

On Sunday December 31 2006 23:41, you wrote to Roy Witt:

 RW>> Oh? Well as a Physics Scientist, you shouldn't have a problem
 RW>> explaining that to another Physics Scientist. I'm sure that Vlist
 RW>> will be on top of your statement, as he says that it can't be done.

 MB> There is no way to move anything that has mass faster than light
 MB> because the closer an object goes to light it aquires mass.  At c, it
 MB> has infinite mass therefore requires infinite energy to go c.

Obviously brute force acceleration is not going to cut it.

 MB> There are theories that propose using exotic forms of matter.

I would call that fantasies rather than theories...

 MB> For example, a spaceship counterbalanced with negative matter (not
 MB> antimatter) would be subject to different rules.

Very exotic rules... problem is that no one has ever observed matter with a
negative mass. Negative inertial mass to be precise, because we have no idea if
the equivalence of intertial and gravitational mass will hold in this fantasy.

Negative inertial mass had the odd property that when you push it it will come
toward you. The harder you push, the faster it will come toward you. Touch it
and it will crush you.....

 MB> The problem is that none of the standard model so far tells us how
 MB> this exotic matter would be made and none has ever been observed.

That is why I label it fantasy rather than theory.

Matter with negaitive inertial mass simply does not fit in with anything we
know now.

 MB> Negative matter would react completely opoosite to gravitational
 MB> fields,

Not necessarily. As I said, the equivalence between inertia and gravity may not
hold.

 MB> so all negative matter would be far away from the planets and the sun,
 MB> thus out of reach.

Short living particles could still exist anywhere. In the fantasy...

 MB> There are theoretical configurations for a warp drive that use warping
 MB> of space-time similiar to that suggested by star trek (ironically).

Star Trek is extremely vague about this warp drive. That makes it easy to see a
similarity. The Star Trek warp drive simply ignores relativity.

 MB> Such is a alcubierre drive.

Presently no more that a fantasy. A well worked out fantasy, but a fanbtasy
nevertheless.

 MB> The problem with any such thing is that amount of energy required to
 MB> warp space is at or close to plank scale.

That is just one of the problems. Another one is gathering the required mass.
Without breaking the speed of light to begin with...

 MB> While not infinite, if even possible, is still several thousand years
 MB> from our capability.  :)

Another popular fantasy is the worm hole. Exploited in Deep Space Nine and
StarGate. And then there is teleportation. Not the kind used in Star Trek but
the kind based on quantum entanglement.

I do not expect to live to see any of them become reality...


Cheers, Michiel

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