#1364 {Official} Star Trek Trivia

[master_q 0]

{Official} Star Trek Trivia #1364

With Guest Host Master Q

RANDOM Trivia

 

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Discarding Star Trek's "physics" and its technology with subspace, if you see a spaceship's clock running at half speed, then what speed does the captain of that spaceship view your clock moving at?

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A. Your time will appear frozen.

B. Your time will appear running at quarter speed.

C. Your time will appear running at half speed.

D. Your time will appear running at normal speed.

E. Your time will appear running at double speed.

F. None of the above.

 

 

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Points: 10 (Ten! You guys are getting away with murder.)

Edited January 3, 2006 by master_q

[master_q 0]

Just a note:

 

This is not any kind of trick question. The clock is not broken. It reflects time itself.

All information is available to base your answer.

[master_q 0]

Answer:

 

"C. Your time will appear running at half speed."

 

 

 

We will assume one thing: there is some kind of constant relative motion between both observers. (It does not matter who might be "really" in motion or how the relative motion may be "divided" etc.) The principle of relativity retains the symmetry of the problem. The captain has every right to say that his ship is not in motion and that ours is in motion. This can go either way. Symmetry rules. When you drive a car and go past a tree....Who is in motion? From the drivers perspective, it looks like the tree is in motion and the driver is not. The principle of relativity must come into play. Knowing who really is in motion would violate the principle of relativity. Yes, the spaceship's clock might be moving slower relative to yours. This implies that our clock is moving faster relative to the spaceship's clock. However, you must remember the principle of relativity. "But how?" Understand that time desynchronization occurs (which leads to the shrinkage of space). For example, if you have a subatomic particle move at a speed close to that of light, its lifespan will be greater. However, because it is greater does not mean that it (pretending it has a brain and things of that nature) will know that it has lived a longer life. The number of heart beats of someone that is moving with that particle will be the same as if the person appeared at rest....BUT as far as this person is concerned he/she is at rest and outside observers are the ones in motion.

 

Beyond that here is how the special theory of relativity starts: It starts with light, the second axiom of relativity. Maxwell's equations imply that the speed of light is constant. It does not matter who views this speed, it will always be equal to c. You can try to chase the beam of light, but you still will get c. You can try to run away from it, but you will still get c. It does not matter if the emitting source is moving or not. Einstein reasoned the only way to maintain this is if the nature of space and time were different, relative concepts. Paradoxes are fixed once you change the nature of space and time. For example, if you put a bulb in a middle of a cubed room that is moving at some constant relative motion, it will hits all the walls the same. This, however, will not appear to happen from someone watching this room move at constant velocity. They will see it hit the back wall first because if it be otherwise this would imply that the speed of light has changed from being that invariant speed. The paradox is solved when you say that space and time change. Time dilates and space contracts. They are relative concepts. Not absolute; like classical physics' view that we are on an absolute stage of space and time. Einstein also united space and time into spacetime. He mathematically showed that we are all moving through spacetime with a net speed of c. If you are at "rest", you will only be moving through the time dimension. If you get up and move, then you will divert speed from the time dimension to move through the three space dimensions. And after he changed this nature of space and time it completely rewrote other concepts, such as momentum, which then leads to the discovery that you can also unite mass and energy. Etc. That is special relativity in a nutshell.

Edited January 8, 2006 by master_q