Thomas, FTL is one of those grey areas in physics, and unfortunately we haven't observed any physical object or piece of information going faster than the speed of light. Ever. Tachyons are hypothetical, and not even on very good theoretical footing - they're just something that's been conjectured as a possible solution to certain problems, but there are other solutions that are probably better.
General relativity is very tightly linked to both faster than light travel and time travel. If you have general relativity and FTL, you by definition have time travel. If you have general relativity and time travel, you by definition have FTL. There's absolutely nothing you can do about this - that's just the way the math works in general relativity. So that's what the theoretical/math side of things says about it. But what does the real world have to say about it? 1) It looks like the universe has general relativity in it. General relativity has been tested a ridiculous amount, and it's probably the second most well tested theory in the history of mankind. It's safe to say that 'general relativity exists'. 2) We've never seen a single example of FTL. Ever. In the entire history of mankind. 3) We've never seen a single verified example of time travel. Ever. In the entire history of mankind. That gives us a pretty strong indicator that with the way the universe is set up, we'll probably never have FTL as discussed in sci-fi. If we did, we'd have to deal with time travel too, and there's no evidence for either in spite of a lot of very smart people trying to do it for a really long time. I'll post game related specifics in the next note, because I'm sure someone is going to argue stuff I've said here. Dennis Towne Alter Aeon MUD http://www.alteraeon.com P.S. for pedantics: the usage of FTL in the above is the standard strict "information transfer" definition used when defining the light speed limit in relativity; please do not needlessly pollute the discussion with apparent velocity or waveform-leading-edge arguments, as it will simply cause confusion on what is already an unintuitive topic. On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 12:57 PM, Thomas Ward <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Phil, > > True, but FTL is as yet in opposition with known physics. As I > understand it nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. It is > the great constant in physics. There are tacions that move faster than > light, but nothing else in known physics can do it. > > The other problem that makes FTL implausible is inertia. How exactly > do you go from 0 KPS to 300,000 KPS without the people inside the > spaceship being smashed into jelly? > > My point being while FTL is common place in books, movies, and video > games no one has a clue how to get around the laws of physics and make > it truly plausible. That's why it is called science fiction. :D --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
