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The only way to travel the speed of light is to use it as a propellant.

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posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 07:52 AM
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Im no scientist but if you were to travel the speed of light wouldn't you have to use light as a fuel to push propel -whatever - in space and just wait to gather up speed the problem after traveling that far would be acquiring another light source.... lol .. Solved it!

Any theory on using LIGHT as a propellant in space? or on Earth? Gravity would be a monkey wrench though.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 07:59 AM
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a reply to: TheJesuit

None that ive heard of yet.
I have heard of using gravity though.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:02 AM
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Sorry , that would be the least effective fuel that theoretically one could use.
As an object gets closer to the speed of light , the mass of that object becomes exponentially greater. At 100% of light , mass would be infinite and thus the amount of energy required would be infinite as well

As light (in either wave and/or particle form) has no mass , thus no effective energy.

I.E. , there is no energy that can propel an object at even near light speeds . Nothing



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:04 AM
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a reply to: TheJesuit

Einstein had a theory on light speed.
It basicly said that the fast matter goes the more energy is needed to propel it.
You will never be able to produce enough energy to attain light speed.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:08 AM
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You could be onto something there TheJesuit.
I've wondered for a long time what would happen to a torch if released into space with the light on.
Would it travel?
If so, what direction would it travel in, towards the beam or away from it?
Or nothing at all, just random 'floating'?
Only an experiment would answer those questions. Has it been done?



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:11 AM
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a reply to: Gothmog


What about solar sails?


Solar Sails Wiki



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:13 AM
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Light speed, not just a good idea...
Its the LAW



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:15 AM
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id say that i have to disagree with you on light having no effective energy .. every plant based thing grows because of sunlight, it creates the weather and the seasons there's energy there just not our capacity to harness it for propulsion.. other than solar




a reply to: Gothmog



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:16 AM
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a reply to: TheJesuit

Propellant typically goes in the opposite direction of what you're propelling, I've seen bouncy balls thrown out of a moving vehicle and double it's velocity. Kind of like how a bullet shot from a jet does the speed of the jet plus ejection speed.

I've never seen the opposite though, throwing a bouncy ball in the opposite direction of the car's direction.

Photons do convert energy when they strike an object, photons have momentum but no mass. As I understand it their ability to push an object is due to their momentum and conversion of energy into heat (thermal) energy. Photons can move things but they need to hit something for that to happen.

I suppose it could be used as a propellant, but to expell it from the craft could only really push it in the opposite direction, like say if you used a base plate attached to the craft. To push a craft the light would have to come from elsewhere, like being beamed from Earth or a space station. Maybe it could work in reverse?

Then you'd have to keep the light beam focused over vast distances, keep it accurate too. This is the reasoning behind using "lightsails" to propell a craft through space.

Solar Sail

Ultimately it's down to weight, does the craft carry the energy to create photons. What's the effeciency of your "light drive" and what's the energy source.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:26 AM
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a reply to: TheJesuit

Take a look at this little formula. ( and ignore relativity for the moment)
Its using just 1 G @ 9.8 m/s/s2

Light speed in 1 year

186,000 miles per second for the speed of light and 32 ft/sec/sec for 1 gravity acceleration.
edit on 23-4-2018 by Macenroe82 because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:37 AM
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originally posted by: TheJesuit
[...] Any theory on using LIGHT as a propellant in space? or on Earth?


There's been a fair bit of research on the subject going back years. Here's a couple of links;


[...] Laser propulsion systems may transfer momentum to a spacecraft in two different ways. The first way uses photon radiation pressure to drive momentum transfer and is the principle behind solar sails and laser sails. The second method uses the laser to help expel mass from the spacecraft as in a conventional rocket. This is the more frequently proposed method, but is fundamentally limited in final spacecraft velocities by the rocket equation.
- Laser Propulsion (Wiki)

This video (6:37) demonstrates ground-based laser propulsion;



This video (1:40) is a graphic demonstrating the laser sail theory;



From NASA;


In 2018, a small space probe will unfurl a sail and begin a journey to a distant asteroid. It’s the first NASA spacecraft that will venture beyond Earth’s orbit propelled entirely by sunlight. This technology could enable inexpensive exploration of the solar system and, eventually, interstellar space.

[...] It will take 2.5 years for the NEA Scout to reach its destination, a smallish asteroid named 1991 VG. But it won’t be a leisurely cruise. The continuous thrust provided by sunlight hitting the solar sail will accelerate the probe to an impressive 63,975 mph (28.6 km/s) relative to the sun. Given enough time, a spacecraft equipped with a solar sail can eventually accelerate to higher speeds than a similarly sized spacecraft propelled by a conventional chemical rocket.
- New Nasa Spacecraft Will Be Propelled By Light

The force of photons ('light particles') hitting a surface is easily demonstrated with the use of a Crookes radiometer;


Crookes radiometer The Crookes radiometer, also known as a light mill, consists of an airtight glass bulb, containing a partial vacuum. Inside are a set of vanes which are mounted on a spindle. The vanes rotate when exposed to light, with faster rotation for more intense light, providing a quantitative measurement of electromagnetic radiation intensity.
- Crookes Radiometer

A short (0:22) video showing a Crookes Radiometer in action;



I hope this helps some,




posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:47 AM
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Mass increases to infinity when a massful object moves at the speed of light. How could it be possible to move an object with infinite mass? It isn't.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:53 AM
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originally posted by: TheJesuit
Im no scientist but if you were to travel the speed of light wouldn't you have to use light as a fuel to push propel -whatever - in space and just wait to gather up speed the problem after traveling that far would be acquiring another light source.... lol .. Solved it!

Any theory on using LIGHT as a propellant in space? or on Earth? Gravity would be a monkey wrench though.


Or you could just move everything else around you instead.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:01 AM
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posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:04 AM
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originally posted by: TheJesuit
id say that i have to disagree with you on light having no effective energy .. every plant based thing grows because of sunlight, it creates the weather and the seasons there's energy there just not our capacity to harness it for propulsion.. other than solar




a reply to: Gothmog


What ????



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:05 AM
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Something to consider about light speed and matter.
If the 'bits and pieces' of atoms in an object have to move about to keep the atom together, what would happen to atoms at the speed of light?
To stay together, they would have to be travelling faster than the speed of light, at least in the direction of travel, which is theoretically impossible.
Perhaps, not impossible, but theoretically impossible according to our current understandings/thinking.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:10 AM
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originally posted by: TheJesuit
Im no scientist but if you were to travel the speed of light wouldn't you have to use light as a fuel to push propel -whatever - in space and just wait to gather up speed the problem after traveling that far would be acquiring another light source.... lol .. Solved it!

Any theory on using LIGHT as a propellant in space? or on Earth? Gravity would be a monkey wrench though.


For pushing you only need a force. As long as you are pushing something away you will accelerate, independent of your velocity.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:11 AM
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a reply to: TheJesuit

There are some ideas regarding firing a laser from earth at a solar sailed vessel which could get it up to around 10% the speed of light.

We will never be able to travel faster than light unless we are able to somehow warp space-time around a craft thus use expansion/contraction of space-time to propel the thing.

There simply is not enough matter in the universe to fuel/propel a conventional vehicle past the speed of light.
edit on 23-4-2018 by andy06shake because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:16 AM
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originally posted by: oldcarpy
a reply to: Gothmog


What about solar sails?


Solar Sails Wiki

Solar Sails work from the photons "bouncing" off of a reflective surface. Completely different idea. Make those same sails olive green and you aint goin nowhere.
Works well if you can wait 5 years to reach 100 mph....




posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:18 AM
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originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: TheJesuit

There are some ideas regarding firing a laser from earth at a solar sailed vessel which could get it up to around 10% the speed of light.

We will never be able to travel faster than light unless we are able to somehow warp space-time around a craft thus use expansion/contraction of space-time to propel the thing.

There simply is not enough matter in the universe to fuel/propel a conventional vehicle past the speed of light.

Warping the space/time fabric would NOT be a propulsion system. You would still require force to move.




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