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NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:56 pm
by bystander
Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
New Scientist - 2101 Feb 16
Star Trek fans, prepare to be disappointed. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew would die within a second of the USS Enterprise approaching the speed of light.
The problem lies with Einstein's special theory of relativity. It transforms the thin wisp of hydrogen gas that permeates interstellar space into an intense radiation beam that would kill humans within seconds and destroy the spacecraft's electronic instruments.
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:03 pm
by BMAONE23
Isn't this why the ship was given a Main Deflector Array?
Voyagers deflector
http://www.starfleetmodeler.com/Starshi ... ger_04.jpg
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:40 pm
by emc
Sobering. On the bright side... reckon this drastically lowers the potential for space alien invasion.
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:42 pm
by neufer
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:48 pm
by emc
Do you think that Einstein can be wrong about a universal speed limit?
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:07 pm
by neufer
emc wrote:Do you think that Einstein can be wrong about a universal speed limit?
I don't think his theory necessarily rules out the possibility of
Tachyons.
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:17 pm
by emc
Interesting… tachyons are predicted in bosonic string theory… my wife likes me to use that on my salad. Spos’d to be healthy and all.
Measuring the speed of light
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:56 am
by neufer
Re: NS: Starship pilots: speed kills, especially warp speed
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:34 pm
by emc
What I have learned so far from this thread…
1. Star Trek is likely not an accurate scientific representation of reality due to relativity
2. we worry needlessly about hostile invading aliens from distant galaxies
3. there are lots of space adventure programs that are not an accurate scientific representation of reality (due to relativity)
4. no one wants to argue with Einstein
5. tachyons move faster than light but can’t be proven or disproven since they cannot be seen or measured (smells fishy to me, but what do I know… never mind)
6. if you’re mad at your boyfriend, you can nuke his Valentine chocolates and have a fun physics experiment all at the same time
