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One challenge to relativistic spaceflight is computing. If you put a CPU into a vehicle, which goes close to speed of light, it may not work properly, because t
by asgard1024 13y ago
One challenge to relativistic spaceflight is computing. If you put a CPU into a vehicle, which goes close to speed of light, it may not work properly, because the energy pulses in the device will become unsynchronized when going in different directions.
- josh-wrale 13y agoCool. I wonder if this holds true for quantum computation, as we theorize it anyway.
- ryandrake 13y agoSpecial relativity says the speed of light is the same in all reference frames. In the reference frame of the moving CPU, it would operate correctly.
- JoshTriplett 13y agoWhile the speed of light is the same, relativity also has a lot to say about accelerating reference frames. That said, if you were accelerating fast enough to affect the behavior of a CPU, you'd be experiencing G-forces comparable to the tidal forces of a black hole; computation would be the least of your problems.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- scarmig 13y agoHmm, suggests a vaguely related question to my mind. Generally speaking, do black holes have any implications for computations? E.g. does having a black hole at your disposal let you solve any problems you wouldn't be able to otherwise?
- oakwhiz 13y agoWhat you are describing is a form of hypercomputation. It is not yet known whether hypercomputation is even really a "thing." A hypercomputer, if it existed, would be able to solve the halting problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercomputation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercomputation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malament-Hogarth_spacetime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malament-Hogarth_spacetime
- ithkuil 13y agoI'm not a physicist but this sound weird. if this was true we could tell at which speed we are going and this would mean that not all inertial frames are indistinguishable, which is at the heart of relativity
- Florin_Andrei 13y agoNope. All different parts of the starship are at rest relative to each other. No such effects would occur. You seem to believe in the existence of an absolute frame of reference that all speeds are measured against. There is no such thing. "Speed" only exists as a relative measure.