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FTL question

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Robert Kent

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Aug 6, 2008, 5:19:09 PM8/6/08
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Imagine you're in a space ship, captured by a huge black hole, one with an
event horizon bigger than the milky way galaxy. You're a billion light years
away from the singularity and being pulled in with a force of one G, so
every second that passes your speed increases by 32 feet per second.
Eventually, your speed will approach that of light. Will it ever reach or
exceed the speed of light?

Bill Shroyer

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Aug 6, 2008, 10:52:14 PM8/6/08
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I'm going to intuit an answer on this one - I'm sure the calculation
guys will correct me if I'm wrong:

Given the size of the black hole, I'd say that more than likely your
attainment of light speed would coincide with your having passed
through the event horizon of the singularity. With such a huge event
horizon, you'd be talking about some -powerful- forces - possibly even
enough to consume the entire cosmos as we know it.

Bill Shroyer

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Aug 6, 2008, 10:53:49 PM8/6/08
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I would also say that your rate of deceleration wouldn't be a flat 32
mps, but would increase exponentially as you went along.

Again, just a hunch. Am I right or am I wrong? :-?

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EskW...@spamblock.panix.com

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Aug 7, 2008, 12:34:09 PM8/7/08
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Nope. Your mass increases and distances and time become more "dense", so
you will always have a ways to go (in both time and space) before reaching
the speed of light.


--
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so
certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
-- Bertrand Russel

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