First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.

hunkahunkaburninluv wrote:

First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.

Nothing changes within a reference frame. The reference frames
relative to each other have a different mix of space and time as
a hyperbolic rotation through 4-space.

You cannot have disparate time rates within a reference frame.
It violates thermodynamics.

--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz.pdf

hunkahunkaburninluv wrote:

First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.


See: http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/phys...elativity.html
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physic....html#intro_sr

"hunkahunkaburninluv" wrote in message
...
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but
am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the
effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to
say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.

Sure you can do that by modification of the space-time
metric, that is, by increasing the curvature of space, for
some limited region of space. For, example, see to it
that the gravitational field is increased in that special
room of yours.

Actually, a field isn't required. All you need is a huge
amount of gradient-free, negative gravitational potential.
You can do that by constructing a massive spherical
shell about yourself. Then, through peepholes in the
shell, you can watch time fly by on the shell's outer
surface, all in weightless comfort.

However, for a large factor in time-rates between you
and those on the surface, the people on the surface
would be living (?) in a huge gravitational field. So, lets
put them out in space, almost an infinite distance away.
Then the ratio in time rates between you and them is
given by

delta_t (you) / delta_t (them) = sqrt[ 1 - 2 M / R c^2 ]

where M and R are the mass and radius of the shell,
and G is the universal gravitational constant. Note that
your time approaches zero (their time approaches infinity)
as the mass of the shell, M, approaches that of a black-
hole of radius, R, but everyone lives in free-fall comfort.

See: "Gravity: An Introduction to ... " by J.B. Hartle
ISBN 0-8053-8662-9

[Old Man]

"hunkahunkaburninluv" wrote in message ...
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light?

According to SR in the Twin Paradox experiment, nature grants to the
astronaut twin a slower time rate because the spaceship travels faster
than the earth in leaving it and then in returning to it.

Accepting as true that the astronaut twin ages less than his
earth-bound twin, and since the only essential difference during the
experiment between the twins was their state of motion in space, I
contend that time is a property of matter and that time passes for
discrete objects or systems inversely proportional to their states of
motion. So nature grants objects/systems moving faster than other
objects/systems longer time rates, and thus longer lives (relatively
speaking, of course). Why nature does such a thing can best be
explained with the claim that time is a property of discrete
matter/systems.

Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.

It is possible even though there are no really stationary objects.
The universe is expanding and everything in it is moving so the only
things we can say are stationary are things moving at constant
velocity relatively to each other, but then they can only be
considered stationary in relation to each other. E.g., you, your
desk, and your pc are stationary with respect to each other. Anything
and everything else not moving at constant velocity wrt to you cannot
be said by you to be stationary.

So, imagine a kid-sized model railroad track set up within your room
so that a kid can ride the train while you sit next to the track
watching the train go by. Both of you have at hand 25th century
clocks which can accurately, I say, accurately, measure the time it
takes a photon from a light bulb in the ceiling of the train car to
reach the floor. The kid will measure the time as e.g., x, but your
measurement will be longer, i.e., x + the additional time involved in
which the light travels a curved path to the floor. The distance as
viewed by the kid can be delineated as a straight vertical line
stretching from the ceiling to the floor. For you, the light follows a
curved path because the train is moving along as the photon falls,
while you remain stationary wrt the train. It takes the light a
little bit longer to reach the floor from your perspective, but the
difference is hardly noticible because the speed of the train is so
slow. To put into effect a 100 years span requires that the train
travel much faster, even faster than the spaceship twin!

hunkahunkaburninluv wrote:
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light?

The geometry of spacetime.

You could equally well ask: "What causes a rod to look shorter if I look
at an angle to it?"


Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object?

First: stationary with respect to what? Presumably to observer...

Second: time dilation can also be caused by strong gravitational fields.
Does that help?


Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.

Well, sounds like a way to "travel" into the future. ;-)


Bye,
Bjoern

"TomGee" wrote in message om...
"hunkahunkaburninluv" wrote in message ...
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light?

According to SR in the Twin Paradox experiment, nature grants to the
astronaut twin a slower time rate because the spaceship travels faster
than the earth in leaving it and then in returning to it.

Not at all.
Nature doesn't do anything.
Time dilation is "caused" by the way we measure things.
See also Bjoern's reply.

Dirk Vdm

In article ,
"Dirk Van de moortel"
wrote:

"TomGee" wrote in message
om...
"hunkahunkaburninluv" wrote in message
...
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession,
but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship
approaches
the speed of light?

According to SR in the Twin Paradox experiment, nature grants to the
astronaut twin a slower time rate because the spaceship travels faster
than the earth in leaving it and then in returning to it.

Not at all.
Nature doesn't do anything.
Time dilation is "caused" by the way we measure things.

For example, pain causes time dilation. So does boredom.

See also Bjoern's reply.

/BAH

Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.

"hunkahunkaburninluv" wrote in message
...
First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession,
but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship
approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the
effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down
to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.



Time dilation is an effect of the fact that the speed of light is the
same in all uniformly moving (with respect to each other) frames of
reference.

John.

Uncle Al wrote:

hunkahunkaburninluv wrote:

First, I am not a physicist. I do desktop publishing as a profession, but am
an avid sci-fi reader.

Two related questions. What causes time to slow down as a ship approaches
the speed of light? Is there any possibility that we could create the effect
on a stationary object? Imagine a room in which time was slowed down to say
1% normal. One year might in it might equal 100 years.


Nothing changes within a reference frame. The reference frames
relative to each other have a different mix of space and time as
a hyperbolic rotation through 4-space.

You cannot have disparate time rates within a reference frame.
It violates thermodynamics.

--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz.pdf
You have variable time rates in a gravitational field... Time runs
faster at your head than at your feet. WHy would that violate
thermodynamics?

Marcel,