Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ncoast.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!panda!genrad!decvax!cwruecmp!hal!ncoast!bsa
From: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: FTL Techniques (masslessness)
Message-ID: <825@ncoast.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 30-Jul-85 12:09:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: ncoast.825
Posted: Tue Jul 30 12:09:03 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Aug-85 22:07:27 EDT
References: <2900@topaz.ARPA>
Reply-To: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery)
Followup-To: net.sf-lovers
Organization: North Coast Xenix, Cleveland, OH
Lines: 22

Expires:

Quoted from <2900@topaz.ARPA> ["Re: FTL & Physics"], by Alfke.PASA@Xerox.ARPA...
+---------------
| Photons (and anything else which travels at lightspeed) are massless.
| You can multiply their mass by any gamma factor (the thing that goes
| infinite at c) and it stays zero: thus, the formula still applies.
| Interestingly enough, photons do have momentum, which varies with
| wavelength, not speed.
| 
| If we could get rid of ALL of a starship's mass, we could get it to go
| at lightspeed very easily ... hmmm.  Sounds like a great gimmick for a
| space-opera.
+---------------

It's been used.  The Heechee drive ``gets rid of'' gravitational mass (see
GATEWAY by Fred Pohl); and the Lensman books use an inertialess drive, which
cancels out inertial mass.  The question is, which is needed?  Or is it both?

--bsa
-- 
Brandon Allbery, Unix Consultant -- 6504 Chestnut Road, Independence, OH 44131
decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!bsa; ncoast!bsa@case.csnet; +1 216 524 1416; 74106,1032
========================> Trekkies have Warped minds. <=======================