UFO question - do you believe?

[rangefinder]

They, like us, are bounded by the physical laws of the Universe (you can't buck Einstein) so travelling faster than light is out.

I must be bored or getting older or something. The "nothing is faster than light" has puzzled me for years.

Rewind to the Big Bang. A colassal event that supposedly scattered matter in all directions, millions if not billions of years ago, which resulted in this rock we call Earth and all the other planets and galaxies that astomoners see through their telescopes.

Fast forward to today and some scientist looks through his telescope and see light from the Big Bang. He says it is approaching us.

Now the question that puzzels me: If the light from the Big Bang is still out there and has not reached us yet does that mean that this rock called Earth travelled faster than the light that is approaching but still has not reached us?

Yep, it's onna be a slow day.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Einstein was a smart cookie as well as a genius. His theory of Relativity actually says ' it would appear that nothing can travel faster than light' just to cover himself.
To answer your question: no reputable astronomer would claim to be able to see the 'light' generated by the Big Bang as it happened so long ago that any photons generated at this time would have long since been dispersed, absorbed or otherwise lost - for the same reason that your flashlight will not illuminate the moon from your back garden.
We may, however, be able to 'hear' the echo of the Big Bang within the general background radiation.
And we know that our solar system is moving through space much slower than the speed of light as we can calculate our velocity and direction of travel using Doppler shift.
Finally, the centre of the Big Bang cannot be approaching us for the same reasons as the centre of an explosion cannot catch up with the shrapnell.
Does that help?

 

[Artemis]

Einstein was a smart cookie as well as a genius. His theory of Relativity actually says ' it would appear that nothing can travel faster than light' just to cover himself.
To answer your question: no reputable astronomer would claim to be able to see the 'light' generated by the Big Bang as it happened so long ago that any photons generated at this time would have long since been dispersed, absorbed or otherwise lost - for the same reason that your flashlight will not illuminate the moon from your back garden.
We may, however, be able to 'hear' the echo of the Big Bang within the general background radiation.
And we know that our solar system is moving through space much slower than the speed of light as we can calculate our velocity and direction of travel using Doppler shift.
Finally, the centre of the Big Bang cannot be approaching us for the same reasons as the centre of an explosion cannot catch up with the shrapnell.
Does that help?

2 things.

1: You are the smartest, coolest guy ever, wish I will be as smart as you when I get older, although I doubt it.

2: I understoon most of that

 

[Hertz van Rental]

2 things.

1: You are the smartest, coolest guy ever, wish I will be as smart as you when I get older, although I doubt it.

2: I understoon most of that

1) There's nothing smart about having a head full of useless information, Arty. And there are lots of people on this forum way cooler than me - you, to name one. I am just a boring and pedantic old fart.

2)That proves you are at least as smart as me and much smarter than a lot of other people.

So if I think you are cool and smart then you must be

 

[Artemis]

2 things.

1: You are the smartest, coolest guy ever, wish I will be as smart as you when I get older, although I doubt it.

2: I understoon most of that

1) There's nothing smart about having a head full of useless information, Arty. And there are lots of people on this forum way cooler than me - you, to name one. I am just a boring and pedantic old fart.

2)That proves you are at least as smart as me and much smarter than a lot of other people.

So if I think you are cool and smart then you must be

:shock:

Btw, your still cool and smart

 

[ferny]

Stuff can travel faster than the speed of light. You just can't see it.

 

[Artemis]

Actually, Einstein said nothing can excellarate to the speed of light, what about things already traveling at the speed of light? like...tachyon speeds?

 

[MDowdey]

you guys watch too much babylon 5





md

 

[Canon Fan]

"Well if there isn't anything else out there, it sure seems like an awful waste of space doesn't it?"

Back to the IMC I go

 

[triggerhappy]

Actually, Einstein said nothing can excellarate to the speed of light, what about things already traveling at the speed of light? like...tachyon speeds?

Its far to long since I studied physics but as I recall he said that density increases with velocity. If an object were to increase its velocity to the speed of light, the object would become infinitely dense. Therefore to answer your question.... the object would be an infinitely small package of energy travelling at the speed of light, so in effect it woudl be... just like light.

 

[Artemis]

Or a tachyon?

e=mc2 means energy = mass x light2, so mass is = to energy, and since it takes infinate energy to reach the speed of light, it will make infinate mass...am I right?

 

[jadin]

Talk about bullocks...

I don't understand how any reasoning person can believe in the big bang. The chances of it occuring with life resulting are so astronomically low, statitians would consider it impossible.

energy = mass x speed of light sqaured

so mass doesn't = energy.

 

[triggerhappy]

I don't understand how any reasoning person can believe in the big bang. The chances of it occuring with life resulting are so astronomically low, statitians would consider it impossible.

You clearly don't read enough terry pratchet

energy = mass x speed of light sqaured

so mass doesn't = energy.

But mass and energy are interchangable. Mass can become energy and energy mass - it's partly why light is such a puzzle.

 

[Artemis]

I don't understand how any reasoning person can believe in the big bang. The chances of it occuring with life resulting are so astronomically low, statitians would consider it impossible.

You clearly don't read enough terry pratchet

energy = mass x speed of light sqaured

so mass doesn't = energy.

But mass and energy are interchangable. Mass can become energy and energy mass - it's partly why light is such a puzzle.

Yo sorry Jadin, I know im an idiot and make up stupid things sometimes

Yeah, I think what Trigger happy was saying was what i was trying to get at

Thanks Trig

 

[jadin]

I don't understand how any reasoning person can believe in the big bang. The chances of it occuring with life resulting are so astronomically low, statitians would consider it impossible.

You clearly don't read enough terry pratchet

energy = mass x speed of light sqaured

so mass doesn't = energy.

But mass and energy are interchangable. Mass can become energy and energy mass - it's partly why light is such a puzzle.

But not on a 1 to 1 basis. Thus why the equation is stated as it is. Otherwise it would simply be "e=m"