At 11:48 PM 12/18/02 -0500, Damon wrote:
Hi all,
Maybe y'all missed my question in my (in)famous return message, so I'll repost here for the benefit of the guilty :P
I need to know the formula used to calculate flight time for a spacecraft using the acceleration/deceleration method of space travel. Anyone know it?
Do you mean the relativisic formula for a spacecraft which accelerates at a constant rate for the first half of the journey, then decelerates at the same rate for the second half, and the acceleration and distance are large enough that the speed at the halfway point is a significant fraction of the speed of light? (Sometimes referred to a "hyperbolic motion.") E.g., a round trip to the center of the Galaxy at 1g acceleration only taking something like 40 years from the viewpoint of the crew, although when they return they will find that over 50,000 years have passed on Earth? If so, you might check at <<http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SR/rocket.html>>
--Ronn! :)
I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle
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