space travel (1 Viewer)

[clever angel]

hi everyone

cud ne one help me in answering this dotpt- this was in cssa 2005 and i didn't score good fro this q'n

discuss the implications of mass dilation, time dilation and length contraction for space travel

thankxxx

 

[香港!]

hi everyone

cud ne one help me in answering this dotpt- this was in cssa 2005 and i didn't score good fro this q'n

discuss the implications of mass dilation, time dilation and length contraction for space travel

thankxxx

A major problem of space travel is travelling extremely large distances within our life time. Mr Einstein with his theory of relativity stated that at very fast speeds, time dilates, thus the faster you travel, the slower time progresses, which is an advantage for space travel. Length at these speeds is contracted, shortening the distance-also an advantage.
A big problem is that of Mass and Energy. At speeds approaching the speed of light, mass increases in large amounts, thus the more energy is required to move it. Additional energy input is further converted to mass, exacerbating the problem. The energy required makes it very difficult to reach the speeds required.

Hope that answers it properly @_@
hate these questions, they so BS, can't have 'elegance' in the answers like in calculation questions:\

 

[rama_v]

You could also talk about the twins paradox. TIme dilation would make it useless to travel to deep space because by the time you come back to Earth, your family and relatives would have been long dead

 

[exa_boi87]

Going along this vein then, im completely stumped as to why my answer to this question is wrong ...

An astronaut set out in a spaceship from Earth orbit to travel to a distant star in our galaxy. The spaceship travelled at a speed of 0.8 c. When the spaceship reached the star the on-board clock showed the astronaut that the journey took 10 years. An identical clock remained on Earth. What time in years had elapsed on this clock when seen from the astronaut’s spaceship?
(A) 3.6 (B) 6.0 (C) 10.0 (D) 16.7

I keep answering as (d) and the answer states its (b). I know this is *really* easy, but i cant wrap my head around it. Does it have something to do with the frame of reference in which the astronaut is observing the clock from?? .. The way I interpret it is, quite simply, time for an astronaut goes slower relative to those who remain on earth .. is this assumption correct or am I missing an integral point here :s

 

[gordo]

remember, if u look from the frame of reference of the astronaut, then the earth is travelling away from him at 0.8c and he is stationary,
therefore time on earth would dilate and the clock would go slower there.

just sub the numbers into the formula