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Anders Sanberg writes:
> I think you misunderstood me. If your spaceship accelerates at 1 G, a > classical calculation would say that after one year you would travel > faster than c. However, in relativity (and as evidenced in particle > accelerators) even a constant acceleration doesn't lead to a velocity > greater than c. What happens is that the mass of the accelerated > object increases as 1/sqrt(1-(v/c)^2) and the energy needed to > accelerate it to a few percent higher velocity diverges.
The energy needed to accelerate it from it's _starting_ point increases, but not the energy it needs to accelerate itself. An object/vessel which is capable of generating it's own thrust will not need to output more power to maintain a constant acceleration the further it gets from it's origin.
Jon Reeves
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Anders Sanberg writes:
> I think you misunderstood me. If your spaceship =
accelerates at 1 G, a
> classical calculation would say that after one =
year you would travel
> faster than c. However, in relativity (and as =
evidenced in particle
> accelerators) even a constant acceleration =
doesn't lead to a velocity
> greater than c. What happens is that the mass =
of the accelerated
> object increases as 1/sqrt(1-(v/c)^2) and the =
energy needed to
> accelerate it to a few percent higher velocity =
diverges.
The energy needed to accelerate it from it's =
_starting_ point increases, but not the energy it needs to accelerate =
itself.
An object/vessel which is capable of generating it's = own thrust will not need to output more power to maintain a constant = acceleration the further it gets from it's origin.
Jon Reeves