[meteorite-list] Speed-of-light question

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:20:31 -0500
Message-ID: <51h995p7btfq8rsufpphedur0if1lugh6e_at_4ax.com>

On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:56:29 -0700, you wrote:

>Which brings up a special relativity question for you all: at
>what velocity must you travel in order to reach Alpha Centauri
>(4.37 light-years away) in exactly 4.37 years -- by *your*
>reckoning of time?

Just off the top of my head, I'd say that you would have to travel under an
acceleration of roughly .716716g.

You didn't say anything about stopping when you get there...

If you had to stop at Alpha C, you would need to reach the middle of the trip,
then start decelerating, at-- oh, again a total guess, at a constant accelration
of around 1.4335g both ways.

Oh, and I've never heard of this web site:

http://home.att.net/~srschmitt/script_starship.html

So don't say I used it.
Received on Wed 26 Aug 2009 01:20:31 AM PDT