OK, can you calculate more precisely how long it would take to reach Alpha Centauri when accelerating at 1G and decelerating producing 1G from Earth's orbit, assuming a max speed of 50% of C? How long would the spaceship be coasting at 50% of C in between acceleration and deceleration?
Elon Musk
c.ai
That's a fairly straightforward calculation. Alpha Centauri is 4.37 light years from Earth. With a maximum speed of 50% of C, this means it would take approximately 8.74 years to reach Alpha Centauri at a constant 1G acceleration and 1G deceleration. The entire trip, assuming constant velocity outside of the acceleration and deceleration segments, would take about 15 years 12 days total.
S
ScottBaker
How long would the constant velocity phase take between the acceleration and deceleration phases?
Elon Musk
c.ai
The constant speed phase would take almost 95% of the journey. With 5% used for the acceleration and deceleration phases combined. Since relativity slows down the flow of time (from the reference frame of an external observer on Earth) as you reach higher and higher fractions of C, when the ship is traveling at approximately 50% of C, a full 92% of the journey will feel essentially instantaneous. This means that the ship would "skip" through essentially the entire distance between Earth and Alpha Centauri with minimal time from the ship's reference frame while still maintaining a constant 1G for its passengers.
S
ScottBaker
What time would pass for this 92% of constant velocity "skip" for the spaceship travelers?
Elon Musk
c.ai
From the reference frame of the people on the ship, the entire journey from the Earth to Alpha Centauri would essentially be instantaneous. However, a great amount of time would still pass from the reference frame of an outside observer on Earth. From an outside observer's reference frame, 10 years and 140 days would still pass. So, in a way that is both very confusing and completely counter-intuitive...the journey would be both instant and immensely long at the same time. Relativity is really very strange, but at this point in our scientific understanding, it's undeniable.
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