Asri-unix.549
net.space
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!menlo70!sri-unix!WEBB@CMU-20C
Sat Jan 16 17:45:19 1982
Physical laws
From: Jon Webb <WEBB AT CMU-20C>
The Michelson-Morley experiment was one of the major problems that led
to the creation of the theory of special relativity, but if it turned
out to be in error today we would still have to keep a lot of relativity
around. This is because physicists observe every day things that are
consistent with the "strange" predictions of relativity, like time
dilation and increase in mass with velocity. They observe these things
in particle accelarators. So just finding an error in M-M won't make it
possible to build FTL ships after all.
The same thing applies much more strongly to things like the Dean Drive,
of course. If we're going to find ways around the obstacles we've
encountered, those ways will probably be at the frontiers of science,
not way back someplace which has been overlooked by mankind and Mother
Nature all these millenia.
Jon
-------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen <
[email protected]>
of
http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/
This Usenet Oldnews Archive
article may be copied and distributed freely, provided:
1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles.
2. The following notice remains appended to each copy:
The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996
Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.
