Why does speed in space change the rate of aging?

Question

I've heard that moving at higher speeds, or light speed, in space can competely halt the effects of aging. How does this work? Some explained it with einstein's theory of relativity.. How does it really work?

Answer 1

It doesn't affect aging--you feel time going by as usual. However, your clock is ticking slower, compared to everyone else.  So, what feels like a year to you, will be ten on earth (for example).

   All processes that we are familiar with require energy exchanges that go at the speed of light (electromagnetic signal between atoms and such).  These processes cannot go faster than light, but going near the speed of light, which would cause these to go faster than light--unless you change time.  This was Einstein's big idea, which wasn't experimentally proven much later (1930's I think).

  The main point--you feel a year go by--you are a year older.  From your point of view, the Earth hit an "time acceleration".  In reality, you had a time slow down--but you didn't feel a thing.

EDIT--I may be wrong, but I disagree with Helmut.  Time might appear to slowing down on earth, but that would be an optical effect.  The person actually moving near light speed would actually have a time slow down, because those electromagnetic processes are the ones being directly affected.

Answer 2

time slows down so while people on earth are aging, you are aging much slower

Answer 3

Its called Time Dilation but it cannot halt the effects of aging. It only explains that the time you spent traveling at the speed of light is dilated with respect to an observer at rest.

The formula of Einstein dilation is T2 = T1 / sqrt(1 -u^2/c^2)

Where T1 is the time elapse when travelling at C and T2 is the time elapsed with respect to a stationary observer. U is the speed of the object. C is the speed of light.

When computing for the values, T2>T1 if an only if the  U<C. Therefore, there exist TIME DILATION even you are only riding a car, a jet, a horse. The time dilation is soooo small that we cant feel it.

Answer 4

Speed in space does not, repeat, not, change the rate of aging.  This has been referred to as a paradox, which is this:

Suppose observers A and B are traveling at near light-speed with respect to one another. IF they could observe each other's perfectly accurately running clocks it would appear to observer A that B's clock is running slower than A's clock, AND it would appear to observer B that A's clock is running slower than B's clock.  Stated in terms of aging, B would appear to A to be aging slower than A, but A would appear to B to be aging slower than B.

In reality both clocks run at exactly the same speed, and both observers age at exactly the same rate.

EDIT:  Too often people ignore the reverse observation and state simply (and erroneously) that time slows as you approach the speed of light.  Time slows for the OTHER guy, not you.  If you are on Earth, the people on the spaceship appear to be aging slower.  If you are on the space ship, the people on Earth appear to be aging slower.

Answer 5

It's tremendously complicated, but as I understand it, as you approach the speed of light, your mass increases exponentially (E=mv^2). As your mass increases, your gravity increases, which bends space-time in your area. This bending of space-time causes time to flow more slowly for you.

Disclaimer: I am not a physicist.

Answer 6

It's all based on the idea that no matter how fast you are travelling, you will always observe the speed of light to be the same.  So if you're travelling half the speed of light, you will still observe the speed of light to be the same.  The only way this can be possible is for time to dilate.  It's really weird, and doesn't make sense intuitively but it does make sense mathematically.  It's represented by the Lorentz transformation.  The paradox is that if two observers are travelling in different inertial frames, they will both observe the other's clock ticking slowly, and their own ticking at regular speed.  It doesn't matter how fast you're going, to you, time is always the same.  Everyone else's changes.

Answer 7

thats a really good question

Answer 8

Time is not a constant in space, it can be sped up or slowed down.

When you move fast enough you gain more mass.  The faster you get the heavier you become.  This increase in mass and gravity changes the speed of time.

For example:  Speed Of Time = 1 / G

If you increase G time will slow, if you decrease G time will speed up.  

G is Gravity, and this is an example of how Einsteins complicated formula works.

Answer 9

No one truly knows, Einstein explains it best as you get closer to the speed of light time slows down. Its part of his theory of special relativity but no one can explain why. Just like time on Earth actually moves slightly slower than it does on the ISS.