Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light

Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by ars on Monday February 21, 2011 @01:21AM (#2244477)

No, you would see her aging very slow. Since you are standing still, and it's she who is moving near the speed of light.

And if she checked you YOU would be the one aging very slow, since she is standing still and you are moving fast.

You are still thinking in terms of absolute motion "you're moving". You are not moving, you can only compare your speed with someone else's.

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Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by oewolf on Monday February 21, 2011 @01:38AM (#2244521)

Hmm so if someone moves near the speed of light, time basically stops for everyone?

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Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by ars on Monday February 21, 2011 @01:42AM (#2244533)

Remember - he isn't moving near the speed of light THEY are. He is standing still.

But if he accelerates then things are quite different, and much more complicated.

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Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by burgerbrain on Monday February 21, 2011 @01:42AM (#2244536)

From which reference-frame are you asking?

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Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by oewolf on Monday February 21, 2011 @01:55AM (#2244565)

I'm just trying to wrap my head around the concepts discussed here.

I used to think about it as I explained in my previous comment. But now that ars is making these comments, it seems like I'm grasping something new.

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Re:Why nothing can go faster than the speed of light by ars on Monday February 21, 2011 @02:05AM (#2244587)

I'll do my best to help.

This FIRST thing to remember is that you can only measure speed by comparing with something else. There is no such thing as the concept of "I am moving", but rather "relative to them I (or they, it's interchangeable) are/am moving".

Now when you compare speeds you can also compare clocks, and the same principle applies - you can only measure time by comparing to someone else.

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