Faster than light

At what minimum speed, in m/s \text{m/s} , should you travel so that you feel that you are traveling faster than the speed of light? If you don't think this is possible, put -1 as your answer.


The answer is 2.12E+8.

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1 solution

Alex Li
Jun 4, 2015

Let x x be the fraction of the speed of light you are traveling at. By the theory of relativity, time is dilated by a factor of 1 1 x 2 \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-x^2}} . Thus, your apparent speed will be x c 1 x 2 \frac{xc}{\sqrt{1-x^2}} . The inequality then becomes x c 1 x 2 > c \frac{xc}{\sqrt{1-x^2}}>c , or x 1 x 2 > 1 \frac{x}{\sqrt{1-x^2}}>1 . This rearranges to x > 1 x 2 2 x 2 > 1 x > 2 2 x>\sqrt{1-x^2}\rightarrow2x^2>1\rightarrow x>\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} . Your speed must therefore be 3 × 1 0 8 × 2 2 = 2.12 × 1 0 8 3\times10^8\times\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}=\boxed{2.12\times10^8} m / s m/s .

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