4 ms·
They're seeing old light. Even if things are moving at FTL, they still have rational cause-and-effect. Your weapon might reach the location where the ship had
by knome 5y ago
They're seeing old light. Even if things are moving at FTL, they still have rational cause-and-effect.
Your weapon might reach the location where the ship had entered the wormhole faster than any telescope there could see light emitted from your star, but the ship will still have moved into the wormhole prior to exiting.
Assuming that to be able to send or receive FTL data implies breakage in causality itself seems pretty preposterous.
Seeing billions of years into the past when looking at distance galaxies doesn't imply that if we had FTL we would be able to affect them billions of years in the past. They have continued to move and emit light in all the billions of years since. It just hasn't reached us yet.
- dghf 5y agoIt’s nothing to do with old light. It’s to do with the relativity of simultaneity. Have a look at the Wikipedia article I linked to. Or read these posts on Ask a Mathematician / Ask a Physicist: - this one explains the basis of the phenomenon: https://www.askamathematician.com/2010/12/q-according-to-relativity-two-moving-observers-always-see-the-other-moving-through-time-slower-isnt-that-a-contradiction-doesnt-one-have-to-be-faster/ https://www.askamathematician.com/2010/12/q-according-to-rel... - this one explains the implications for FTL travel (and why it can result in time-travel): https://www.askamathematician.com/2011/09/q-hyperspace-warp-drives-and-faster-than-light-travel-why-not/ https://www.askamathematician.com/2011/09/q-hyperspace-warp-...