Comments on: Questions Show: Relativity, Relativity and More Relativity http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/ Take a weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos with Astronomy Cast. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:48:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Samuel Baulch http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/comment-page-1/#comment-1975 Samuel Baulch Fri, 22 May 2009 04:45:04 +0000 http://www.astronomycast.com/?p=399#comment-1975 I'm not as trained or anywhere near as intelligent as most of the people on this website, and this question may have been answered before now. So I'm sorry if it has. My question has to do with the twin paradox, I understand that information would stop this from being possible because it can't travel faster than light, but lets say for one moment it could. If both twins had a video conference going while one was traveling, my question is. What would the other see? I know one would seem to age slower and one faster. However how would they interact, would one be acting super fast looking like a VHS stuck in fast forward, and the other really slow with a deep voice? I'm sorry if this seems basic to everyone else, but I'm struggling to get my head around it. Could someone please clarify -- Samuel Baulch I'm not as trained or anywhere near as intelligent as most of the people on this website, and this question may have been answered before now. So I'm sorry if it has. My question has to do with the twin paradox, I understand that information would stop this from being possible because it can't travel faster than light, but lets say for one moment it could. If both twins had a video conference going while one was traveling, my question is. What would the other see? I know one would seem to age slower and one faster. However how would they interact, would one be acting super fast looking like a VHS stuck in fast forward, and the other really slow with a deep voice? I'm sorry if this seems basic to everyone else, but I'm struggling to get my head around it.

Could someone please clarify

– Samuel Baulch

]]> By: Adrian Morgan http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/comment-page-1/#comment-1560 Adrian Morgan Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:19:32 +0000 http://www.astronomycast.com/?p=399#comment-1560 I was disappointed by the mishandling of the twin paradox. According to what I was taught when I was a science undergraduate, the question from Russell Dorward isn't a question <i>about</i> the Twin Paradox; it <i>is</i> the Twin Paradox. There is widespread confusion here: many people use the term "twin paradox" to mean merely the result that one twin would be older than the other, while others insist that the term properly refers to the (erroneous, but the point is to find the flaw) result that both twins would be older than the other depending on whose frame of reference is used. I am assured that the latter definition is correct, and therefore did not expect the former definition to be perpetrated on Astronomy Cast. I was disappointed by the mishandling of the twin paradox. According to what I was taught when I was a science undergraduate, the question from Russell Dorward isn't a question about the Twin Paradox; it is the Twin Paradox.

There is widespread confusion here: many people use the term "twin paradox" to mean merely the result that one twin would be older than the other, while others insist that the term properly refers to the (erroneous, but the point is to find the flaw) result that both twins would be older than the other depending on whose frame of reference is used. I am assured that the latter definition is correct, and therefore did not expect the former definition to be perpetrated on Astronomy Cast.

]]> By: AJenbo http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/comment-page-1/#comment-1335 AJenbo Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:22:58 +0000 http://www.astronomycast.com/?p=399#comment-1335 Best explanation of quantum mechanics ever! Thank you Fraser Cain. Best explanation of quantum mechanics ever! Thank you Fraser Cain.

]]> By: reevesAstronomy http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/comment-page-1/#comment-1268 reevesAstronomy Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:25:58 +0000 http://www.astronomycast.com/?p=399#comment-1268 Gotta love topics that rip your brain apart. I'm still thinking through this episode and working it out in my mind. Changing time and choosing a moving frame of reference is hard to imagine being figured out by a human mind. Gotta love topics that rip your brain apart. I'm still thinking through this episode and working it out in my mind. Changing time and choosing a moving frame of reference is hard to imagine being figured out by a human mind.

]]> By: Daniel http://www.astronomycast.com/listeners/questions-shows/questions-show-relativity-relativity-and-more-relativity/comment-page-1/#comment-1244 Daniel Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:52:25 +0000 http://www.astronomycast.com/?p=399#comment-1244 Matthias is correct with the Twin Paradox. Since there is no preferred reference frame, both twins will see the other twin age slower. This gives rise to the apparent paradox. So long as the spaceship twin never speeds up, slows down, or turns around this paradoxical state continues. The clarification to the paradox comes from the spaceship twin needing to change his direction to meet the other twin. Then the spaceship twin enters a non-inertial reference frame and leaves the realm of special relativity. It is still curious that if the spaceship can change direction instantaneously, the accelerating twin will age all in that instant. Matthias is correct with the Twin Paradox. Since there is no preferred reference frame, both twins will see the other twin age slower. This gives rise to the apparent paradox. So long as the spaceship twin never speeds up, slows down, or turns around this paradoxical state continues.

The clarification to the paradox comes from the spaceship twin needing to change his direction to meet the other twin. Then the spaceship twin enters a non-inertial reference frame and leaves the realm of special relativity. It is still curious that if the spaceship can change direction instantaneously, the accelerating twin will age all in that instant.

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