MadSci Network: Physics |
Hello, Nathan. If a ball was spinning fast enough, the equator of the ball could get close to the speed of light. The tremendous speed would cause a curvature of the spacetime continuum. It would decrease in volume, slow down in time, and increase in weight. In theory, such an object would weigh more than it would at rest. However, no substance could withstand the centrifugal force acting upon it as it accelerated its spin. A similar idea to yours has been proven already. In particle accelerators, where electrons are pushed at speeds greater than 99.9% of light speed, the electrons weigh about 40 times their resting weight. The difference between this phenomenon and your gravitron theory is that one velocity is lineal, the other is spinning. A lineal moving object experiences the curvature of spacetime uniformly. A spinning object's axis isn't moving through space at all, and would not experience the curvature of spacetime like the equator would. So in theory, your gravitron idea is sound. But the energy necessary to generate the speed, the weakness of the object, and the non-uniform speed of different parts of a spinning object make such an idea unworkable. In time, the energy may become available, and a material capable of withstanding the force may be found. Until then, particle accelerators are the only machines that could be called "gravitrons". Layne Johnson
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