The Gravity T.E.N. Loophole
Gravity is an arbitrary motion. In gravitation, a force does not push an object to move. When you fall from a tree, you do not feel anything against you. You feel as though you are in a microgravity environment such as out in "space". Thus, there is no resistence to "acceleration" induced by gravitation. In other words, "intertia" plays no role in gravitation. The mass of the gravitated object is irrelavent. All other things being equal, the "mass" of an object doesn't inhibit the potential motion induced by gravity.
As an object approaches the speed of light, its precieved length decreases towards zero and its mass increases towards infinity. The automatic assumption is that an object cannot reach or exceed the speed of light. It would take an infinite force to overcome the infinite inertia of the object. However, as I said, gravity causes motion to occur independent of an object's "mass/intertia".
An intersteller vehicle equiped with the ability to form a gravity-well a fixed distance from the vehicle could accelerate itself to relativistically superluminal velocities. Of course, the vehicle would be unobservable, superluminally.
HOWEVER
In this raw form this allows for time parodox to occur -- an impossibility.
In nature, even around black holes, there appear to be no truley superluminal gas jets. There are jets which at first appear so, but once relativity is taken into account they are proven subluminal. Why is this when it seems possible from a theoretical standpoint? If it is paradoxal, what property of gravity does not allow the jets to reach superluminal velocities? I suspect it is a result of the non-linear nature of gravity. Light is linear. That is, when two light waves intersect, they do not interrupt one another. Like sonic(air)-waves, gravity waves interrupt one another. Non-linear fields also have the property of decreased pressure influence at high speeds. This is the "Bernoulli Effect" taken advantage of in the "aerofoil" (airplane wing). I believe this may explain why when matter approaches superluminal velocities relative to a gravity well, the gravitational influences deminish towards zero. This property eliminates the possibility of parodox which could occur from the temporal effects of gravitationally induced superluminal velocities.
THE KICKER
Here it goes. . .
I think it may be possible to find a property of nature which would still allow for superluminal travel. The property must have two inherent and inseparable sub-properties.
First, it must be able to allow for the production of an artificial gravity-well a fixed distance from the source (the vehicle itself).
Second, it must be able to allow for what would be Temporal Effects Negation (T.E.N.). Any relative temporal effect of changing velocity with the gravity-well propulsion would be countered, eliminated, etc.
These two properties would have to be intertwined in such a way as to exclude the possibility of either being used without the other. Otherwise a parodox could occur.
Using such a means to travel superluminally would allow for a sort of geometric motion--"What is the distance to our desired destination. What are the maximum acceleration and velocity curves we wish to use." "This is how long it will take." It's Newtonian motion from Einsteinian propulsion. Ironic.
Here are some extra benefits this propulsion system would allow:
First, the ship, and the occupants within, would not be subject to the inertial forces of acceleration.
Secondly, the ship could be as dense and have as much total mass as the designers want. However much there is of the ship, it will still accelerate at the same rate. Of course, one would want to take into account the overall volume of the ship to avoid over accelerating one part of the structure while another part is under influenced by the artificial gravity well. Otherwise the stress might tear the ship apart. If the designers wanted, they could just reinforce the structure, increasing the ship's density\mass, until it could withstand the stress.
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