This is kind of a reply to everyone, but I picked Aware Wolf as his was the last post that I felt was in in line with my topic (precisely that is. The side discussion on Technology advancements, change in understanding of Physics, and worm-holes/ space dilation-contraction is fascinating) I do wish there was a type of multi-reply function so everyone I selected would receive a notification e-mail, but alas we are limited to what tools we have.
Aware Wolf writes:
Picture a meter stick pointing straight up. This represents an object "standing still" in space in a particular FOR.
This is how things have been explained to me as well. I do have a few statements in regard to it, that I wish Cavediver were here to discuss.
This statement seems to be true (and I will agree with it) but it is just as you said, from a particular FoR. We understand there to be no Universal FoR, as
everything is relative. We also understand there to be no such thing as true rest.
With that, from an Earthly FoR, we are at rest, and light is traveling at 300,000km/sec (can't forget the k onifre). Regardless of what direction we point the light beam, it still travels at C, which is why it has that awesome abbreviation for "Constant".
Taking that into consideration we must ask ourselves a few questions.
1. If we point a light beam forward while traveling .999c, is that light beam going to travel back in time? I'd imagine the answer to be no.
2. If we are traveling .999c away from the Earth... and the Earth is traveling at .002c (I know a stretch) are we now really going 1.001c? I'd say no, we are still going .999c relative to the Earth, but at REST relative to ourselves, and light is still going LS.
3. Does time slow as we experience it? That is, do our internal time-keeping mechanisms suddenly experience time slower from our own FoR if we increase our velocity? Do clocks suddenly start ticking slower than before, as per traveler FoR? I'd say the answer is no, time still apparently drudges forward at the same speed to the traveler, regardless his velocity.
So what I see as perplexing is that the meter stick never really changes direction, as you are never really moving (from your FoR). You are constantly at rest (from your FoR), regardless your velocity.
With those taken into consideration, what is really keeping us from going from here to Alpha Centauri in one year, or sooner?