Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder
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- Jul 14, 2012
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If you watched the original Cosmos series by Carl Sagan, in 1 of the episodes he explains some discoveries made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:
1. The speed of light in a vacuum is constant no matter what frame of reference you use.
2. Thou shalt not add your speed to the speed of light.
3. Nothing w/mass can reach or exceed the speed of light.
Something else was discovered when it comes to things moving near the speed of light, and that is the light waves coming off said object moving near the speed of light are compressed towards the blue side of the spectrum if the object is moving towards you, or stretched into the red side of the spectrum if the object is moving away from you. This is called the doppler effect and it is similar to what happens to sound waves from an object moving through air (a train is used in the Cosmos example).
The effects of time dialation are also explained in a simple and concise manner using the example of a kid on a motor scooter traveling around the countryside outside the city of Vinci, home of Leonardo.
These are all proven laws of nature that have survived over a century of testing and experimentation. They provided the assumptions that Einstein used to develop his Theory of Special Relativity, which gave us the famous equation that relates energy to mass:
E = mc*c
To quote Carl, "For the laws of nature to be obeyed, very strange things must happen as you approach the speed of light."
I would highly recommend watching the original Cosmos series for anyone interested in getting an introduction of how space and time are related and where we as citizens of the Cosmos fit into the entire scheme of things. Even though it was made in the 70's and has some dated references, it still is by far the most efficient presentation I have ever seen that puts the whole universe into perspective.
The Cosmos lost a great communicator when Carl passed away.
Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder
1. The speed of light in a vacuum is constant no matter what frame of reference you use.
2. Thou shalt not add your speed to the speed of light.
3. Nothing w/mass can reach or exceed the speed of light.
Something else was discovered when it comes to things moving near the speed of light, and that is the light waves coming off said object moving near the speed of light are compressed towards the blue side of the spectrum if the object is moving towards you, or stretched into the red side of the spectrum if the object is moving away from you. This is called the doppler effect and it is similar to what happens to sound waves from an object moving through air (a train is used in the Cosmos example).
The effects of time dialation are also explained in a simple and concise manner using the example of a kid on a motor scooter traveling around the countryside outside the city of Vinci, home of Leonardo.
These are all proven laws of nature that have survived over a century of testing and experimentation. They provided the assumptions that Einstein used to develop his Theory of Special Relativity, which gave us the famous equation that relates energy to mass:
E = mc*c
To quote Carl, "For the laws of nature to be obeyed, very strange things must happen as you approach the speed of light."
I would highly recommend watching the original Cosmos series for anyone interested in getting an introduction of how space and time are related and where we as citizens of the Cosmos fit into the entire scheme of things. Even though it was made in the 70's and has some dated references, it still is by far the most efficient presentation I have ever seen that puts the whole universe into perspective.
The Cosmos lost a great communicator when Carl passed away.
Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder