1. If I built a gigantic telescope - huge - roughly 200 million light years away. Now, keep in mind, this telescope is capable of viewing Earth it has such a large magnification. Assuming there are no obstructions in the viewing of Earth, when I look through this telescope, would I be able to see the dinosaurs? 2. If I built a spaceship, capable of traveling 100 times the speed of light, safely and comfortably. And, assuming the theory of Relativity is correct, ie time moves slower the closer you are to the speed of light; If I travelled in said spaceship, from the age of 18 to my death, assuming age 100: in those 82 years, would I have experienced 8200 (or a relative number according to how much faster I am than the speed of light I am going) years in time? Or, and this is a much better question, if I lived in that spaceship for 50 of those years, and came back to Earth at the nimble age of 68, would the Earth have aged significantly more than me? ie. 6800 (or once again a relative number) years in the future? This is, of course, assuming that I am able to build said spaceship capable of traveling at said speed. Which, due to current physics laws, is impossible. Serious, thought about questions I have been pondering for weeks.
So, you're saying that if you travel significantly beyond the speed of life, which is physically impossible, you would not age? Or you would age minimally over the course of an incredibly long amount of time?
1. I think NO, lightyears is a term used for distance and not actual years/time.. 2. probably YES. assuming that theory is very true you would only have aged 50 years whilst everything has aged 5000 years...... either that or you would have aged and everyone will have stayed the same. ==edit== i stand corrected, i forgot light still has to travel that far in years so i'll change my answer to no.1 to YES.
Basically, what this theory states is that the closer you approach the speed of light, the slower time will pass for you. As you pass the speed of light, time from your perspective slows significantly. You could age only a few days while in the rest of the world, ten years pass. It's a very old but well respected theory, generally considered to be correct, but unfortunately it's beyond our ability to test it. I don't understand the physics of it, though.
I am not sure but space physics is so interesting! I know that if you were travelling at the speed of light or faster that you wouldnt be able to see anything... And think about this: If the universe is a word for the everything: Scientists say that the universe is always expanding.... But if the universe is everything then what does it expand into? Edit: 1- If you were to build the telescope 200million years before the dinosaurs then yes you would be able to see them. However if you were to look through it now you would see the Earth in 200 million years time from now.
But the light will travel those 200 million light years to me, so I can see the light as it emanates from the Earth. Hence being able to see the dinosaurs?
X2 Let's say we watch a new star in creation and this star is 1000 lightyears from here, we are 1000 years to late. Simple as that.
As you said, something that is everything cannot grow larger than it already is. It can be comprised of more within the area in which everything is, but if it grows then wouldn't it be everything except for the bit that has grown? Therefore, the universe either doesn't expand, or it isn't everything.
The first one is pretty straight forward. IF you could teleport instantaneously anywhere in the universe, and you had that telescope 200 million light years away from the earth then yes, you could see dinosaurs. You're seeing the earth as it is 200 million years ago. The second one, my simple little mind can't wrap itself around.
1: Yes because the light from the dinosaur age will just be reaching you. 2: No, a light year is just the distance light travels in a year, if you travel for 50 years and come back to earth, even though you have travelled a distance that it would have taken light 500 years to travel, 50 years is still the amount of time that has passed. Newbie knowledge ftw. To expand on point 1. Everything you see is because light bounces off it and into your eyes. If the light hitting the dinosaurs travels however far and then hits your eyes you will see it. Don't ask me how it does't get distorted and stuff because that's way to complex for even my awesome brain >.<
#1: If you had it built and you were there now, you'd be able to see 200 million years ago. Simply because the light eminating from the Earth 200 years ago will have taken 200 light years to reach that point. Thus, you'd be able to see it. But what if you left now, traveled at the speed of light and had your telescope built. You'd be seeing the Earth as it was when you left =p So no matter how much you've aged at that point, would the Earth technically have not aged at all ? True, from Earth's perspective it would. But from yours, no =] #2: They've actually taken atomic clocks on supersonic jets going god knows how fast around the Earth. The result? When they landed it was slower (very small value though; however, not that it is only at the speed of sound and not light). I was sitting in on a friend's physics lecture this year and they mentioned something about this exact question. I forget what it was, but it was something of the sort that from each perspective, the other would have aged longer due to the time required for light to travel.