Light Travel Relative example essay topic

Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity in the 1920's after starting thinking about it at the age of around 16. Albert Einstein's theory of time travel is basically theory of relativity. They are linked side-by-side. Relativity is only a theory because it cannot be proven. If it were a law it would have to be proven.

In order to prove that relativity is a true we would need to conduct an experiment in which we would send an rocket with a person in it at 99.99% the speed of light then come back to earth and told us the information he reordered, then maybe we " ll know for sure. Now, according to Einstein you can't travel at 100% the speed of light because He predicted that objects gain mass as they accelerate to greater and greater speeds. Now, to get an object to move faster, you need to give it some sort of push. An object that has more mass needs a bigger push than an object with less mass. If an object reached the speed of light, it would have an infinite amount of mass and need an infinite amount of push, or acceleration, to keep it moving. No rocket engine could do this.

Also, in fact, as far as we know nothing can match, or exceed the speed of light. Plus, there are many theories on quantum mechanics, which disproves Einstein's theory. We may never know for sure which theory is correct. It's possible that these theories are BOTH wrong. But who could say for sure. I really can't say.

Yet again, it's very possible that the answer could be discovered tomorrow. For instance here are some quotes that prove that someday we could have machines that could travel through time. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible". (Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895) "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers". (Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943) "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home".

(Ken Olsen, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977) "The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us". (Western Union internal memo, 1876) "Everything that can be invented has been invented". (Charles H. Duell, commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899) Now, for the science behind the theory: The basis of this theory is that the speed of light stays constant.

If you find this hard to believe scientists, through many experiments, have proven it. In 1887 two American scientists performed a now-famous experiment. They discovered that light always traveled at the same speed: 186,000 miles per second. It didn't matter if the source of the light was moving or if the observer was moving.

Experiment: 1. You " re on a train that's moving forward at 50 mph. You throw a ball in the direction that the train is moving. Relative to you and the train, the ball leaves your hand traveling at 20 mph. Question: From the point of view of someone standing alongside the tracks, how fast is the ball moving? Answer: 70 mph.

(All you have to do is add the speed of the train (50 mph) and the speed of the ball (20 mph).) 2. Again, you " re on a train. This time, though, the train is moving much faster: at half the speed of light, or 93,000 mps, and instead of throwing a ball, you turn on a flashlight. Question: How fast is the light traveling relative to the observer standing alongside the tracks? Answer: 186,000 mps (Relative to the observer, the light is moving at 186,000 mps.

Seems impossible, doesn't it? But this has proven to be true through many experiments over the years.) 3. This one's like the previous one, but with a twist. Again, you " re on a train moving at 93,000 mps, and again, you turn on your flashlight.

Question: How fast does the light travel relative to you? Answer: Relative to the man on the train, the light is moving ahead at 186,000 mps, just as it is for the observer outside the train. The speed of light remains constant for all observers. (Contrary to what common sense tells us, time and distance are not fixed. This, too, is the assumption Einstein made.) In the second and third train examples, the speed of light turns out to be exactly the same for both you and the observer standing along the tracks because time, as measured by your watch, ticked along at a slower pace than time measured by the observer.

Not only that, distance changed, too. For the observer, a one-foot ruler whizzing by on the train would have measured less than a foot. The weird thing is that, for you on the train, time wouldn't seem to be moving slower and your ruler wouldn't be shorter -- all would appear normal. However, time on the rest of the Earth would appear to be ticking along slower and its rulers would be shorter. Now, say you want to travel through time. You board a spaceship and take off for deep space.

The ship approaches the speed of light. Time for you seems to pass as it always has. It takes you about five seconds to tie your shoe. But to an observer on Earth (assuming he or she could watch you), you are moving at a snail's pace. It takes hours to tie your shoe. Anyway, you continue on your journey.

You slow down, stop, and accelerate back to Earth. You arrive home. You have aged two years during your flight. Two hundred years have passed on Earth. You have successfully traveled forward through time. Now you want to go back?

Sorry. According to relativity, you can only move through time in one direction. Conclusion: It might be difficult to grasp that time stays constant and that you can travel through time, however according to Einstein, it is very possible.