On 21 Jul 2010 at 22:11, wrote:
> Yeah, it's relativity I'm trying to wrap my head around. I thought it
> would be fun to see what kind of an effect it would have in a
> Traveller setting.
>
> Let me reword the question slightly. If a ship accelerated to near-
> light speeds, using the galaxy it is in as the frame of reference,
> and then stopped accelerating and just coasted, would the effects of
> relativity (using our frame of reference) cease to distort time and
> mass?
> Or, in ortherwords, is relativity dependant on the force created by
> the acceleration of the object, on on the given speed of that object
> regardless of force?
Relativistic effects (special relativity, anyway), are *solely* a
function of relative velocity. All sacceleration does is ensure that
the accelerating body is *not* a viable "reference frame".
While accelerating, there's no doubt which frame is the accelerated
one. So it is a "special" frame (ie the rules apply differently than
to everything that's just "coasting".
> In even different words, while it may not be possible to accelerate
> *up to* the speed of light without the inconvenience of relativity,
> is it possible to *exist at* the speed of light while aging at the
> same rate as our paradoxical twin who lives at planet-bound speeds?
No.
Normal matter *cannot* be at the speed of light. And particles with
zero "rest mass" (photons, and several other things) cannot travel at
any speed *except* the speed of light.
--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com