🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3092@xyzzy.UUCP> throopw@xyzzy.UUCP (Wayne A. Throop) writes:
>
>Why is this surprising?  Especially to a "pure mathematician"?  Take
>the function (1/abs(x)).  The limit is infinity as x->0.  So how can a
>function "become infinite" when the domain is zero?  How do you get
>infinity from nothing at all?
>			stuff deleted
>
>No, the assumption that is made in SR is that everybody "sees" light
>travel at the same speed, regardless of the speed of the emitter or
>observer.  (This "assumption" is pretty safe, since it is actually
>what seems to happen with real light in the real world.)  From there,
>Einstein used simple algebra to work out the consequences of this.
>One of the consequences is that as v->c, force required to increase v
>increases without bounds.
>

Just one note of skepticism here...

Back in the 1940's when we were attempting to break the sound barrier,
the aerodynamic equations seemed to indicate the the air loads (the force on
the wings) would go infinite at Mach speed.  Half the aerospace engineers
seemed to think it was not possible to accomplish.  Good thing Chuck Yeager
wasn't real strong in Math.


"I know this is against the law of gravity, but then, I never studied law".
					Bugs Bunny



-- 
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Kevin W. Holroyd			*
CFI Aspen Flying Club			*
Denver CO.				*