Faster-than-light travel (FTL) refers to matter travelling at a faster speed than light (c). In a vacuum, this speed is known as 2.998 x 108 meters per seconds. Based on the Theory of Relativity, it is known that objects with a mass cannot exceed the speed of light as they require infinite energy due to the increasing amounts of energy required for continuous acceleration (PhysicsLink, 2017). However, matters without mass, such as photons, can reach this speed (PhysicsLink, 2017). Nevertheless, the film Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, successfully obeys this law as their ship experiences space travel via the phenomena of a wormhole. However, the movie Star Trek: The Voyage Home, directed by Leonard Nimoy, disregards this scientific rule to benefit Hollywood as their Enterprise supposedly exceeds faster than light travel through the use of a warp drive.
Wormholes are formed through mathematical, idealised solutions from Einstein’s relativity rules, which illustrate a connection between separated sections of space-time through a three-dimensional tunnel (refer …show more content…
For example, consider Einstein’s train and platform thought experiment, with one observer inside a train, with headlights, travelling at half the speed of light and another standing on a platform (VCE Physics, 2017). When passing the observer on the platform, it is expected that the light would be moving at 1.5 times the speed of light as you add the speed of the train to the speed of light (VCE Physics, 2017). However, due to special relativity, light is constant from every perspective, resulting in time being altered. This is because more time has passed for the observer on the platform than in the carriage, hence creating a time dilation (VCE Physics,
Wormholes are formed through mathematical, idealised solutions from Einstein’s relativity rules, which illustrate a connection between separated sections of space-time through a three-dimensional tunnel (refer …show more content…
For example, consider Einstein’s train and platform thought experiment, with one observer inside a train, with headlights, travelling at half the speed of light and another standing on a platform (VCE Physics, 2017). When passing the observer on the platform, it is expected that the light would be moving at 1.5 times the speed of light as you add the speed of the train to the speed of light (VCE Physics, 2017). However, due to special relativity, light is constant from every perspective, resulting in time being altered. This is because more time has passed for the observer on the platform than in the carriage, hence creating a time dilation (VCE Physics,