Audio

Suppose the engines work. The ship reaches twenty percent of light speed. Now the universe introduces a new player: time itself. Einstein’s special relativity says the faster you move, the slower time passes for you. At twenty percent of light speed, the effect is modest — you age sixty years, Eart…

Suppose the engines work. The ship reaches twenty percent of light speed. Now the universe introduces a new player: time itself. Einstein’s special relativity says the faster you move, the slower time passes for you. At twenty percent of light speed, the effect is modest — you age sixty years, Earth ages perhaps sixty-two. But at ninety percent, sixty years for you could mean over a century back home. At ninety-nine percent, your sixty years would equal more than four hundred Earth years. Civili