I been play around with a program called Phun

[JoeOh]

This program is a free 2D visual physics program that allows for a variety of interactions. Here's the download link: http://www.phunland.com/wiki/Download

 

The program can simulate an environment with or without gravity. with or without air. Objects can have varied friction, bounce, and even their own gravitation attraction (if you set the program menu to advanced mode). Also, you can have keyboard control of an object with the arrow keys.

 

It is advisable to have a decent computer with a decent video card to run this program smoothly.

 

I had this program for quite sometime, a buddy told me about it and ever since I've been goofing off with it on occasion.

 

What I did was to replicate my inertia engine idea I displayed in a previous post. Suffice it to say Newton wins out again . I figured he would win, or at least be proven right again (for the 10 millionth+ time I'm sure).

 

But anyhoo, I made my "device" and it does work on a frictioned surface and in earth gravity. But when the friction is turned off and the gravity set to zero, the devices fails to gain momentum and just oscillates in the same spot.

 

In the device, I had a heavy 10kg mass to represent the permanent magnet, and a 1kg mass to represent the copper coil to attract the 10kg mass.

 

Since the program doesn't do magnetism I assigned the arrow keys to cause the 2 objects to come together as if the copper coil mass were attracting the larger mass to itself.

 

Since the copper mass is only 1kg and the other the larger mass is 10kg the copper mass will move faster than the other. In this case I think it's 10 to 1. If I understand physics right, the copper coil moves faster because it has less inertia and moves easier.

 

If I change the acceleration rate of the 10kg mass to more than or less than 1 in this instance then momentum in a vacuum is gained.

 

If it were possible to change an objects mass at will could we "cheat" what actually happens in a vacuum? The only way I know to artificially change the mass on an object is through a particle accelerator.

 

Unless I'm mistaken if particles are allowed to get close to the speed of light (above 80%) the mass and inertia of those particles increases, and if they slow down they lose mass and inertia. This pulsing can be controlled by electricity. Though I'm sure it will take bookoo amounts of power to do it.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, if I am, someone I'm sure will show me the light.

Edited January 2, 2010 by JoeOh
grammar

[npts2020]

All of that seems plausible to me but that is still a long way from actually being possible.

[Janus]

If it were possible to change an objects mass at will could we "cheat" what actually happens in a vacuum? The only way I know to artificially change the mass on an object is through a particle accelerator.

 

Unless I'm mistaken if particles are allowed to get close to the speed of light (above 80%) the mass and inertia of those particles increases, and if they slow down they lose mass and inertia. This pulsing can be controlled by electricity. Though I'm sure it will take bookoo amounts of power to do it.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, if I am, someone I'm sure will show me the light.

 

The reason that particles increase in inertia as they reach the speed of light is because they have gained energy, and energy itself adds to the inertia of the particle. If you have some device that accelerates a mass to near the speed of light, that object itself is a part of the system, and the energy stored in it needed it accelerate the mass adds to the inertia of the system. The total inertia/momentum of this system will not change if you accelerate the mass. So no, you cannot create momentum this way; its conservation still stands.

[JoeOh]

Lemme ask you all this then. Lets say we have a 100kg mass traveling at 100km/hour. If we somehow changed the mass of that entire object were reduced to 50kg, would it's traveling speed stay the same or be reduced?

[insane_alien]

stay travelling at the same speed.

 

of course the only way i can think of to reduce the mass of it by half is to chop it in half.