No pop-up but how about a pop quiz? (OT)

[Bone Ur]

Okay, I know this has nothing to do with html, but I just can't resist
asking it here.

The following question assumes that the laws, theories, hypotheses, et al
of physics as we currently know them are correct and accurately understood.
There is no subliminal "trick" or obfuscation (-love that word) involved in
attaining the right answer.

It is far, far in the future, and I am very, very rich. I've just
purchased the latest and greatest spaceship ever made. It goes faster than
anything preceding it. Not quite the speed of light, of course, for that
is impossible, but the difference between C and the ship's top speed is
almost nothing.

For my maiden voyage, I've decided to take my non-maiden girlfriend to the
Alpha Centauri Sybaris. The distance from Earth hasn't changed much since
the bonehead days of the 21st century, and for purposes of the question
(only), acceleration is stipulated to occur virtually instantly and will
not crush the crew or cause abnormal effects with regard to the conditions
of the scenario.

The question is: How long (my time) will it take me to reach my
destination?

(a) 5 minutes
(b) 4.3 years
(c) 4.3 years plus a reasonably significant additional amount of time
(d) 8.6 years or more
(e) It can't be determined closely without a very precise accounting of
velocity throughout the trip

Times are not perfectly exact, and the closest answer gets the cigar.

 

[dorayme]

Okay, I know this has nothing to do with html, but I just can't resist
asking it here.

You have a real cheek considering you did not solve the desert
problem*!

 

[rf]

Okay, I know this has nothing to do with html, but I just can't resist
asking it here.

The following question assumes that the laws, theories, hypotheses, et al
of physics as we currently know them are correct and accurately
understood.
There is no subliminal "trick" or obfuscation (-love that word) involved
in
attaining the right answer.

It is far, far in the future, and I am very, very rich. I've just
purchased the latest and greatest spaceship ever made. It goes faster
than
anything preceding it. Not quite the speed of light, of course, for that
is impossible, but the difference between C and the ship's top speed is
almost nothing.

For my maiden voyage, I've decided to take my non-maiden girlfriend to the
Alpha Centauri Sybaris. The distance from Earth hasn't changed much since
the bonehead days of the 21st century, and for purposes of the question
(only), acceleration is stipulated to occur virtually instantly and will
not crush the crew or cause abnormal effects with regard to the conditions
of the scenario.

The question is: How long (my time) will it take me to reach my
destination?

(a) 5 minutes of course. Less if you use a suitable wormhole.
There is one just over there ---> in that other thread.

 

[richard]

(a) 5 minutes of course. Less if you use a suitable wormhole.
There is one just over there ---> in that other thread.

Hell, I did it last week in less than 2 minutes. As a graduate of MIT
(Mantovarian Interstellar Technologies) I was able to tweak the ship a
tad.

 

[Bone Ur]

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:18:35
GMT rf scribed:

(a) 5 minutes of course. Less if you use a suitable wormhole.
There is one just over there ---> in that other thread.

Yep, you got it. And essentially, it _is_ a way to beat the speed of light
if you're not too fussy about definitions.