Thread: why is it not possible to go at the speed of light?

i know that it is not physically possible to go at the speed of light, but i want to know why, since in space, you can keep accelerating, and it wouldnt kill you, why is it not possible to get the speed up to the speed of light? (obviously im talking about a really powerfulspace craft, not one that exists, this is all theoretical that i am talking about) i mean, why is there a barrier that stops us.

The thing is, if you speed up, your inertion mass gets bigger, meaning that it's harder to accelerate or de-accelerate. When you go at c (the speed of light), your inertion mass is infinity, meaning that you would need an infinite force to move on. Such a force doesn't exist.

I'll post a little more explanation, just gotta read some stuff first

EDIT: One of the relativity principles is that light moves with c, measured against all other things. No matter how hard you go, light always move with c from your view. Also, when you move closer to c, time goes slower and slower. (It's the principle of time-dillatation) When you start to move with c, all time stops.

I recommend reading Einstein for dummies

how can it be infinity, if the inertion mass depends on the speed at which you travel at, then it csnt be infinity, because c has a value, (which is approx 3 x 10 ^8 m/s)

My question to that is, isn't everything weightless in space?

how does a spaceship increase in inertion mass?

Is it proven that the faster an object travels in SPACE the heavier it gets?

I want proof, not theories.

it is physically possible to go the speed of light (bending time), but for humans to possess that kind of control would require them to create an explosion probably somewhere the size of the Big Bang.

It is possible.

Originally Posted by dylanshmai

it is physically possible to go the speed of light (bending time), but for humans to possess that kind of control would require them to create an explosion probably somewhere the size of the Big Bang.

oh i thought that when people said something like, e.g. my physics techer - "its just not possible" and i kept saying, but if you were to get to that speed... and she would just say "its just not possible". i thought she meant its not physicly possible, not unhumanly possible. i understand now.

Originally Posted by guerilla

My question to that is, isn't everything weightless in space?

how does a spaceship increase in inertion mass?

Is it proven that the faster an object travels in SPACE the heavier it gets?

I want proof, not theories.

Mass and weight are two separate things.

As something begins moving faster it don't get heavier, it gets more massive.

Weight is only a measure of gravity's pull on a certain object in an area. Mass is a (universal?) constant.

Mass vs. Weight

Originally Posted by Elis D.

Mass and weight are two separate things.

As something begins moving faster it don't get heavier, it gets more massive.

Weight is only a measure of gravity's pull on a certain object in an area.

exactly as i was about to say.