traveling at light speed

[marco]

is this statement correct thet if we travel at the speed of light we would return to earth to find our childrens children have died of old age but yet we are well within our life span, so if correct my question is age as we know it relates only to earth eg a week old then a month old then a year old and so on, in space we can not relate to age as on earth as the cycle of time is not present however the body ages the same if you were on earth or on the other side of the universe so if you travel'd for ten years at the speed of light away from earth and then for 10 years back to earth and your age was 20 on departure you would be 40 on return but have outlived your childrens children
am i missing somthing here like the earth ages faster?

<a class="postlink" href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_time_slow_down_at_the_speed_of_light" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_time ... d_of_light</a>

 

[dronefromsector7g]

I want to say yes?

 

[dazdon]

I want to say I understand it but I don't ;-)

 

[sniff]

is this statement correct thet if we travel at the speed of light we would return to earth to find our childrens children have died of old age but yet we are well within our life span, so if correct my question is age as we know it relates only to earth eg a week old then a month old then a year old and so on, in space we can not relate to age as on earth as the cycle of time is not present however the body ages the same if you were on earth or on the other side of the universe so if you travel'd for ten years at the speed of light away from earth and then for 10 years back to earth and your age was 20 on departure you would be 40 on return but have outlived your childrens children
am i missing somthing here like the earth ages faster?

<a class="postlink" href="http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=593" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/questi ... number=593</a>

That is true... Light and time are very close in relation..

The speed of light is a constant.
Speed is distance divided by time.
Therefore, either distance has to shrink or the passage of time has to contract to maintain that constant.

Although im not sure on the specifics in regards to ten years travel being 40 years for the observer

 

[marco]

is this statement correct thet if we travel at the speed of light we would return to earth to find our childrens children have died of old age but yet we are well within our life span, so if correct my question is age as we know it relates only to earth eg a week old then a month old then a year old and so on, in space we can not relate to age as on earth as the cycle of time is not present however the body ages the same if you were on earth or on the other side of the universe so if you travel'd for ten years at the speed of light away from earth and then for 10 years back to earth and your age was 20 on departure you would be 40 on return but have outlived your childrens children
am i missing somthing here like the earth ages faster?

<a class="postlink" href="http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=593" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/questi ... number=593</a>

That is true... Light and time are very close in relation..

The speed of light is a constant.
Speed is distance divided by time.
Therefore, either distance has to shrink or the passage of time has to contract to maintain that constant.

Although im not sure on the specifics in regards to ten years travel being 40 years for the observer

one light year away and back would see 1000 years age increase on earth with the person traveling having aged 2 years

 

[Andy Dale]

Wouldn't time remain constant no matter where you are ?
The speed would be the only variant.
Why would somebody age quicker than you ?

If you walk to Blackpool and walk back , would your children be the same age ?
Of course they would.
If you went to Blacpool and back at the speed of light , would they be old when you got back?
No , because time has remained constant .

 

[ultimateharold]

Your speed of travel will not mean you outlive your offspring's offspring.

 

[sniff]

Wouldn't time remain constant no matter where you are ?
The speed would be the only variant.
Why would somebody age quicker than you ?

If you walk to Blackpool and walk back , would your children be the same age ?
Of course they would.
If you went to Blacpool and back at the speed of light , would they be old when you got back?
No , because time has remained constant .

You have that mixed up mate.

Time is relative, the speed of light is constant.

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

This is similar to Concorde in supersonic flight, can't remember the details but it's in a Tom Clancey novel "Patriot Games" (which I've read) that going from the UK to America the plane increases in length by X, and yet on the return journey ie America to the Uk it shrank by y at supersonic flight....someat like that anyway!!

 

[yerwot?]

This is similar to Concorde in supersonic flight, can't remember the details but it's in a Tom Clancey novel "Patriot Games" (which I've read) that going from the UK to America the plane increases in length by X, and yet on the return journey ie America to the Uk it shrank by y at supersonic flight....someat like that anyway!!

friction from atmosphere heated the plane causing expansion, no matter what direction it traveled.
to reach the speed of light at a g-force bearable by the human body the traveler would have to live much longer than we do. wont happen imho.