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Interstellar Hydrogen Prevents Light-Speed Travel?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the einstein-brought-in-backup dept.

garg0yle writes "As if relativity wasn't enough to prevent us traveling at light speed, Professor William Edelstein of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is now claiming that the interstellar hydrogen, compressed in front of the ship, would bring the journey to a shocking end. 'As the spaceship reached 99.999998 per cent of the speed of light, "hydrogen atoms would seem to reach a staggering 7 teraelectron volts," which for the crew "would be like standing in front of the Large Hadron Collider beam."'"

7 of 546 comments (clear)

  1. Fuckin' Noobs by jim_v2000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's what the deflector array is for.

    --
    Don't take life so seriously. No one makes it out alive.
  2. Damn it, now they tell me by verbalcontract · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I was just about to get into my 99.999998% lightspeed spaceship.

  3. simple solution: by notgm · · Score: 5, Funny

    put a hydrogen-atom-splitter on the bow of the ship, they'll just get cut in half and fall out of the way.

    1. Re:simple solution: by jbeaupre · · Score: 5, Funny

      You joke, but that might be an actual solution. If you can go that fast, why not postulate some other technology. Something that causes hydrogen to have a 50% probability of being on the left, 50% on the right. Just for a microsecond. Let it collapse back to the middle once you've gone past.

      Really you'd want to create some sort of probability donut. Fly right through the middle. I propose calling it the Homer-Schrodinger shield.

      --
      The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  4. easy solution by nomadic · · Score: 5, Funny

    All you have to do is navigate around the hydrogen atoms.

  5. Re:True, But Irrelevant... by arielCo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not bloody likely.

    Likely bloody. Very bloody.

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    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  6. Re:old news... by AmigaMMC · · Score: 5, Funny
    >As the spaceship reached 99.999998 per cent of the speed of light, "hydrogen atoms would seem to reach a staggering 7 teraelectron volts," which for the crew "would be like standing in front of the Large Hadron Collider beam

    ...

    Since most of the time the LHC is down that doesn't seem like a big problem :-p

    Ok, big fan of the LHC, but just had to say it