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Old 07-24-2008, 10:27 PM  
moeloubani
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregE View Post
So what you're saying in effect is that no matter how fast you travel, you'll never be able to return from a space trip in a relatively short period of time and, in fact, the faster you go the longer it'll be before you return.

Well, if true, that alone should rule out the idea of visitors from outer space.
No no, right now GPS satellites and other satellites take this effect into consideration to keep them accurate. Without it they would be way off.

This is what the whole relativity thing is about, relative to you and yourself you will only have been gone say one hour. That much time will have passed on your clock and you'll be an hour older. But relative to the people still on Earth (or anyone else not moving with you) time will have marched at a different pace.

If anything that means that space travel will be easier, because we can travel for 10000 human years meanwhile the astronauts have only been traveling for (for example) 5 years. The problem with Aliens isn't that, its length contraction and the increase of mass that happens as you approach the speed of light.
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