Time Dilation by High Speed

[Airbrush]

I was watching Stephen Hawkings "Into the Universe" the episode about time travel. He said travel into the past is unlikely because of the "Grandfather Paradox", and using wormholes is also unlikely because of "feedback". However the most likely option is traveling at such a high speed that time dilation becomes a major factor. But traveling at such high speeds, like 90% light speed or higher, seems too dangerous. How do you dodge a pebble when you are traveling so fast? Also the faster you are moving, the more massive your spaceship is, so the more energy it takes to make any change in velocity. It seems impossible to fly around objects, which will probably destroy your spaceship. As my signature says "How do you dodge a bullet" at such high speeds?

 

Or are they confident that interstellar space is so empty that you will probably not run into anything?

Edited October 23, 2012 by Airbrush

[zapatos]

My guess is that you would need to use a high tech version of a cowcatcher to ensure the obstacle is removed from your path.

 

[swansont]

Or are they confident that interstellar space is so empty that you will probably not run into anything?

I think it's more likely that the approach is that you don't worry about that problem until you have a technology capable of getting you to those speeds.

[Airbrush]

My guess is that you would need to use a high tech version of a cowcatcher to ensure the obstacle is removed from your path.

 

Good idea. Build the spaceship so robust and streamlined that it will penetrate and pass through objects.

[Science_lover]

The danger involved in it is a secondary thing. The first thing is achieving such high speeds is really difficult. I think you might be knowing that as speed increases mass of an object increases according to the equation [final mass = initial mass/(square root of (1/your current speed^2/speed of light^2))]. As mass increases, the energy required to further accelerate the object would also increase. So it is difficult for the present day technology to practically achieve such high speeds

Edited October 29, 2012 by Science_lover