If you're in a spaceship moving at 90 percent the speed of light

[Ima Cat]

Lets say you're speeding toward Proxima Centauri, 4 light years from Earth, at .9C, where C = the speed of light. Einsteins time dilation formula shows that time would pass about only about 1/3rd as fast for you as for an Earthbound observer. So for each of your years, Earthlings age about 3 years.

The 4 light years to Proxima would require 4/.9 or about 4.4 years of travel time at your speed, as viewed from Earth. But in your spaceship, the 4.4 earth-years would pass in 4.4/3 = about 1.5 years.

Does this mean that you aboard the spaceship would seem to travel about 2.7 times the speed of light, traversing 4 light years in only about 1.5 years?

 

[G.T.]

time is such a weird / fascinating thing.

Like, when you travel to the future its not like you're leaving the others behind, they're traveling too but its just the perspectives are different on how 'long'_ it took.

Which is odd

 

[SYTFE]

Yes. I mean no. Wait, what was the question again?

 

[Fenton Lum]

Absolutely no interest in being in a spaceship.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Absolutely no interest in being in a spaceship.

You sure?

There are things about our actual space travels that just mystify and fascinate me.

 

[MisterBeale]

C is not constant, so nobody knows for sure.

They will tell you in high school and college that there are certain universal constants, but in physics, this is just not so.

I could not tell you whether this is true in mathematics as well though.

 

[Fenton Lum]

Absolutely no interest in being in a spaceship.

You sure?

There are things about our actual space travels that just mystify and fascinate me.

Oh I know others are into it, good for them, but yeah, for me, I'm sure.