From: Anton Sherwood (dasher@netcom.com)
Date: Mon Jul 21 1997 - 20:48:27 MDT
A little bird told me that jaan.ranniko@smtpgw.aftrs.edu.au wrote:
> I once heard some science show say that the energy yield from a
> theoretical anti matter engine would get us to Pluto in nine
> minutes...
Pluto is more than five light-hours away. Thanks to special
relativity, though, a big enough engine can get you anywhere in
the universe in an arbitrarily short subjective time. Whether
you'd be three-dimensional after the ride is another question.
Dan Clemmensen responded:
> [...] You will not exceed the speed of light.
> Therefore, you cannot reach Pluto in less than 39 hours (as I recall.)
39 astronomical units, not 39 light-hours. The astronomical unit
is the mean distance between Earth and Sun, about 498 light-seconds.
Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher@netcom.com
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