answersLogoWhite

0

Can a light year ship be invented?

User Avatar

Anonymous

17y ago
Updated: 8/16/2019

Do you mean a light SPEED ship? Ignoring the possiblity of "warp" technology, which, though potentially faster than light, does not really address the problem of achieving light speed, but circumvents it: As speed increases, so does mass. The increase in mass is imperceptible at the speeds you and I commonly travel, and even at the enormous speeds (but still nowhere near light-speed) achieved by the space shuttle. However, at speeds near light speed, mass increases assymptotically. At light speed, mass is, in fact, infinite. If a ship was attempting to attain light speed, its mass would increase more and more with each additional unit of speed. As it gets closer to light speed, the mass would be so great that no amount of thrust would be able to get it TO light-speed. The mathematical proof of this is somewhat more complicated, but take my word for it - it's impossible.

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago

What else can I help you with?