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mc_trigger t1_j10qcsm wrote

Actually at exactly the speed of light, you’d arrive at Alpha Centauri (actually anywhere in the universe) instantly, yes instantly.

It’s somewhere at about 71% of the speed of light where it’d take 4 years due to time dilation.

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Ryiujin t1_j10u8k5 wrote

So we would travel instantly according to our own perceptions but 4 years to everyone elses?

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guynamedjames t1_j115q2y wrote

This creates an interesting problem for accounting in the future. Future money is considered less valuable than present money so accountants will have to account for relativistic effects.

Mostly a joke but it creates an issue for funding long distance trips. If the passengers fund it, no problem. But if the funders stay behind they're unlikely to ever recoup their investments.

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Alucard661 t1_j119xfo wrote

In hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, there is a five star restaurant at the end of the the universe where diners eat the most expensive dinners and watch the end of the universe and matter from outside the universe. How do you pay you ask? Simple deposit a penny in your own time by the time you show up to eat compound interest pays for the dinner!

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SgtSmackdaddy t1_j10vv8e wrote

>Actually at exactly the speed of light, you’d arrive at Alpha Centauri (actually anywhere in the universe) instantly, yes instantly.

Actually... if you went the speed of light (and presumably you have mass) your mass would go to infinity and you would delete the universe with a divide by zero error.

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