1: light when considering it's speed is a form of energy and so has no mass. when it interacts with other things it is considered a particle but i don't believe it is considered to have mass in either case.

2: Why are we speaking of chemical propulsion systems? we probably would reach such a speed only with a nuclear reactor and so the energy released by the fuel would increase as the mass increases. A small percent of the mass of the nuclear fuel is transfered directly into energy: Energy=mass * the speed of light ^2 : therefor as the mass of the nuclear fuels increases so does the amount of energy released, and so because the mass of the entire... thing increases, the thrust in proportion to mass remains the same.
in other words if your using a nuclear propulsion system, you'll keep going, until you reach the speed of light, then well i can't figure that out to any degree what so ever, hey I'm only 16 give a guy a break.

3: the reason we speculate on these things is because we want to learn. For me at least, it is also because i want to see the wonder Gods creation, and the complexity of it all. I believe that God set in place the laws and constants of the universe and then set it in motion, but who am i to assign a truth value to it, no one can guess at the mind of God and say that he/she is correct, only say that they believe that it is true but not say that it is true.

One of the most famous misquotes in the world is this,

"Nothing Can Travel Faster Than The Speed Of Light."

But Einstein never said that.

What he actually said was this,

"Nothing Can Accelerate Faster Than The Speed Of Light Because It Would Become Infinite."

Travelling and Accelerating are 2 very different things.

I agree with the original poster's conclusion, but for a different reason.

Let's forget about E-MC squared, infinity, and all that other mind boggling stuff for a minute.

Let’s look at the speed of light: 299,792,458 meters per second...

It is just a number... let's forget for a second that light just happens to go at that particular speed, let’s just look at it as a number.

Why can’t I go 299,792,459 meters per second?


[edit on 23-11-2007 by craig732]

Maybe there's something wrong with the logic of Einstein's equation. Mass is defined as weight/gravitational constant, which on Earth is g.c 32.2, ending in a number using a unit called the "slug", which is the measure of mass.
Since we are dividing weight by a constant to get this number, the only ways to increase mass is to increase weight, i.e., add atoms to the substance to increase its weight, or decrease the g.c. Weight and its associated number of atoms does not increase with acceleration, otherwise for example your auto would get heavier with increasing speed, which it does not, and the gravitational constant is just that, a constant.

If the mass stays constant, then the only variables seemingly left available is the EFFECT of mass, namely inertia, the effect ON mass (acceleration) or possibly a localized change in the gravitational constant AT THE MASS.

E=(W/gc)C*C

Maybe it should read E=(mass inertia/g.c.)C*C
or E=(W/g(variable))C*C

Maybe I'm wrong. This sounds like a good one for the Mythbusters to test-Prove that a car travelling at 100 mph weighs ONE IOTA more than the same car at rest.

It seems like some of us, myself included, do not really understand the definition of "mass".

Can someone explain "mass" in layman's terms please?


[edit on 23-11-2007 by craig732]

Originally posted by DaRAGE
Imagine a Black hole....being created in front of your space vehicle, the ship being sucked towards it but the black hole moving forawrd with tthe ship.....faster than the speed of light?

Cool idea, but you still need to move the black hole in the same speed in front of you. The example you give here is kinda like an Perpetuum mobile.

But I agree that we in most ways can make anything we set our minds to. It only takes a lot of time

But i think we are off topic now