From Newsgroup: alt.fan.heinlein
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 16:12:36 +0000, Tyrone <
none@none.none> wrote:
On Mar 16, 2025 at 10:59:37?AM EDT, "a425couple" <a425couple@hotmail.com> >wrote:
When it comes to space travel, Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is
a major inconvenience. With the laws of physics (currently) prohibiting
faster-than-light travel, velocities are limited to a mere 300,000,000
ms-1.
Actually, nothing can be *accelerated* beyond the speed of light. That much is >certain.
What remains uncertain is traveling faster than light by starting out going >faster than light.
That is the "tachyon jump" used in novels in the "Hooded Swan" series
by the excellent story-teller, Brian Stableford.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_Swan also used in other novels
and short stories.
There are *far* more than 13 ways to break the Lightspeed "barrier".
Just to name a few, one can utterly ignore it ("Our speed is an
observed FACT, 'Relativity' is a model, a *theory*" Paraphrased from
Dr. Seaton) as just about everyone does in the "Skylark" series from
Doc. Smith or decide that "inertialess ships" (and, eventually, entire
planets) don't count as "real mass" so aren't Relativistically
challenged as in Doc. Smith's multi-book "Lensman" story.
Or one can simply exit the entire universe and re-enter it at any
time-space co-ordinate of one's choosing, as the TARDIS seems to do
for The Doctor.
There are more ways to cheat Old Albert than there are SF writers.
Some, such as Mr. Stableford, even have multiple FTL cheats in the
same universe - P-shifters and tachyon-jumpers in the Hooded Sawn
world, for example.
Oh, even "Dr. Who" has multiple FTL drives. Most of them aren't named
nor described but simply assumed to "just work" ("Mac Drives"?). The
TARDIS is not, technically a starship with an FTL drive but it does
the same trick by cheating.
Of course, this is completely hypothetical at this point. But also completely >unknown. Einstein's equations say nothing on this.
Accelerating to .99999999 C then jumping to 1.000001 C, then speeding
up by "slowing down" when your ship and contents are converted into
the square-root-of-minus-one mass, thus avoiding all of the infinities
at the asymptote of the curve on both sides of the "barrier" at
exactly Lightspeed, is a damned neat idea but it relies on one littley
issue: that tachyons are real and not a figment of the mathematics as phlogiston was.
This has never been shown to be true and there is endless evidence
that it isn't. Negative evidence, evidence of their absence, mostly,
but still evidence. There is, apart from two curves on an acceleration
graph, about the same evidence for the existence of tachyons as there
is for ghosts, ghouls, goblins, vampires and the Fae.
Still, it's a cool trick.
If only it were real.
If only *any* FTL drive were real. :)
Sadly, the lack of any positive evidence for them, the lack of any
coherent theory allowing them to exist and the problem that we really
have no clue as to where to start building one is disheartening.
It looks like I won't *ever* get my Starship.
J.
Note: Bugger! I need to get out more. :)
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