Floating bullet theory, riddle me this...

[TNThomas]

I have heard that the higher elevation you are the faster in time you are traveling than someone lower in elevation. Immeasurable on Earth but its the same theory suggesting if you travel to another galaxy then return to Earth like 1 year later everyone you know would be old or dead.

Yes, you are correct on the first one. The second one would depend on a few different variables, but in general if you are correct on that one too.

The simple way of explaining it (how I understood it) was that light has to travel a greater distance near objects that displace/alter spacetime. I think of it sort of like a bubble in space, but the exact opposite. You have all these atoms smashed into a given area. That mass (earth) affects the curvature of spacetime. The more curve, the greater the distance the light has to travel. Since we are on a big chunk of atoms called Earth, it messes up the curvature of spacetime. I always get mixed up on which is which, but I just remembered that in empty space (thing a big chunk of nothing and darkness), light moves in straight lines and is not altered so it will move faster.

It's sort of like which is a shorter distance:
-Walking over the surface of the earth to Africa

Or

-Walking in a tunnel through earth into the ground at Africa.

Walking into the tunnel in the ground would get you there faster, and to the same location. You could walk at the same speed over Earth to get to Africa, buy it would take longer.

But another crazy thing is that even if you got to the same village/spot in Africa, and you could theoretically do both experiments, you would only be at the same location on Earth. Keep in mind the universe is expanding, and our planet is orbit a star, and our solar system is in a spiral galaxy which is also rotating. Every day you wake up on a different location in the universe, you just so happen to be on the same bed!

Here is a good spacetime GIF: https://pin.it/5F3amYRjw

 

[Bobbygun]

Yeabut how fast can your mustang go in reverse with a tailwind on a treadmill?

Fixed it for you.

 

[TTSX]

Fixed it for you.

That's called passing gas

 

[Hemlock]

1038mph to be exact, what the Earth rotates exactly at the equator. For gunners that 1522fps, reasonable in many cartridges.
So this theory is if you stand at the equator, fire a gun (of that velocity) exactly west, the bullet is simply floating.... now if I grasp that correctly, it means its not moving just floating for a split second until gravity takes it over because you are the one moving backwards.

 

[wired]

If you have 15 minutes, watch this video. Fantastic explanation on the Theory of Relativity, which will answer your question. But hold onto your seat, if you can wrap your head around this, it will open up all kinds of other questions. I once read a story about a WW2 bomber who jumped from his plane after it was badly damaged over Germany. He didn't have a parachute, it was night, and he survived (landed on a slope, hitting tree branches, and snow). He said that the fall was one of his most peaceful moments in life. From his frame of reference he was essentially floating, especially after gunfire/screams/explosions.

Essentially your short answer is that whatever you measure is only accurate from your frame of reference. Even time is slightly shorter/longer depending where you are at on earth, and it can vary. Gravity affects spacetime, which affects how we interpret lots of things. Also, as you move toward something or away from something (or your stationary and it moves) the light is also shifted, which can alter measurements (red shift and blue shift). Just like the drone of a motorcycle driving too fast on the highway, but with light.

I am a believer that we can move at the speed of light, and that it is possible to manipulate spacetime to our advantage if we wanted to travel great distances, but that our current technology is simply lacking the ability to do so.

View: https://youtu.be/XRr1kaXKBsU?si=4relx1yAw5V6iJsw

Arguing with Engineers. Therein lies your problem.

And FWIW the Tesla Plaid S would wipe you off the map. I was arguing with an engineer the other day. Two engineers caught in a death trap. His position being that he was happy the new Charger RT was pulling their electric only option because electric cars have no soul. I had to remind him it was a 4 door charger and they have as much soul as a 86 Yugo. Some people want to go fast and some want to be reminded of what its like to go fast.

 

[Lazyfaire]

View attachment 2128984

106 posts later, this 'comic' kinda says it all

 

[orygun]

Arguing with Engineers. Therein lies your problem.

And FWIW the Tesla Plaid S would wipe you off the map.

The guy refused to answer my direct question several times, because if he would have given an honest answer it wouldn't fit his narrative.
I spend a lot of time at the dragstrip and know full well the capabilities of the Plaid. That was never the question. (go back and read my post, if needed) Our conversation, or at least my questions to him had to do with long distance travel.

 

[TNThomas]

The guy refused to answer my direct question several times, because if he would have given an honest answer it wouldn't fit his narrative.
I spend a lot of time at the dragstrip and know full well the capabilities of the Plaid. That was never the question. (go back and read my post, if needed) Our conversation, or at least my questions to him had to do with long distance travel.

I forgot to mention, if you are a mechanic, you probably know more about physics than most scientists. Knowing how to work on vehicles has an insane amount of carry over to core physics ideas. I actually bring offroad vehicles into my classroom to teach physics labs pretty much every year. Torque specs, converting units, leverage/torque, impulse of force, all kids of good stuff. Thermodynamics, conservation of energy, all kinds of good stuff too teach with fossil fuel vehicles.

If you want to hear/watch a few really cool ones, look up "Joe Rogan Theoretical physics." He has had a good handful of leading scientists in that field, and what we are currently learning is just nuts. We know enough to know that we don't know most of what there is to know.

Another cool one, a high res video of the highest published resolution photo of Andromeda (at least as of a few years ago), our closest galactic neighbor (who we are going to collide/possibly merge/or just move right through each other in a few billion years). Keep in mind, every pinpoint of light is a star, probably roughly the same size as our own, likely with planets orbiting each one. Just insane the sheer magnitude of this. And this is only the visible mass, not included dark matter and dark energy:

View: https://youtu.be/D9bNqBeAtC8?si=Ci_baehxLX5ifvQj

 

[Lazyfaire]

I forgot to mention, if you are a mechanic, you probably know more about physics than most scientists. Knowing how to work on vehicles has an insane amount of carry over to core physics ideas. I actually bring offroad vehicles into my classroom to teach physics labs pretty much every year. Torque specs, converting units, leverage/torque, impulse of force, all kids of good stuff. Thermodynamics, conservation of energy, all kinds of good stuff too teach with fossil fuel vehicles.

If you want to hear/watch a few really cool ones, look up "Joe Rogan Theoretical physics." He has had a good handful of leading scientists in that field, and what we are currently learning is just nuts. We know enough to know that we don't know most of what there is to know.

Another cool one, a high res video of the highest published resolution photo of Andromeda (atcleast as of a few years ago), our closest galactic neighbor (who we are going to collide/possibly merge/or just move right through each other in a few billion years). Keep in mind, every pinpoint of light is a star, probably roughly the same size as our own, likely with planets orbiting each one. Just insane the sheer magnitude of this. And this is only the visible mass, not included dark matter and dark energy:

View: https://youtu.be/D9bNqBeAtC8?si=Ci_baehxLX5ifvQj

Just awe inspiring!

 

[The Heretic]

oops

sorry, wrong thread

 

[3MTA3]

oops

sorry, wrong thread

Better than "Oops... Sorry, wrong bathroom"...

 

[P7M13]

I just saw this. @Koda, your mental meanderings have a helluva lot more to chew on than @arakboss 's do.

 

[arakboss]

I just saw this. @Koda, your mental meanderings have a helluva lot more to chew on than @arakboss 's do.

Excellent point.

 

[Cavedweller]

Essentially your short answer is that whatever you measure is only accurate from your frame of reference. Even time is slightly shorter/longer depending where you are at on earth, and it can vary.

I have heard that the higher elevation you are the faster in time you are traveling than someone lower in elevation. Immeasurable on Earth but its the same theory suggesting if you travel to another galaxy then return to Earth like 1 year later everyone you know would be old or dead.

Time doesn't change. Only your perception of it. The best and simplest explanation of relativity I know of is this:

Let's say you are saying goodbye to your wife at a train station. At the train station, there is a clock tower. You are standing on the rear platform of the caboose, looking at the clock. As the train leaves the station, it accelerates. As it accelerates, time would seem to slow because it takes longer for the light from the clock to reach you. At ordinary speeds, this change is imperceptible. But let's say the train accelerates to the speed of light. So if you are looking at the clock, time would seem to stop because you would always be looking at the same image of the clock face. But that doesn't mean your heart stops beating, your cells stop dividing, or your body doesn't age at the same rate. If the train turns around and returns to the station, would your wife have aged more than you did? Or would the same amount of time, as measured by biological processes, rather than your perception of the movement of dials on the clock, have passed for both of you? If you had been wearing a wrist watch, would the hands on your watch stop moving when the train reached the speed of light?