The equation for time difference is this:
∆T = γT
T is the relative time and γ is 1/√( 1-β² ) and β is velocity/speed of light or v/c.
A spacecraft travelling at .01c that was gone for 365 days relative to earth will have a time difference of approx .4 hours. If the speed of the craft was .7c and was gone for the same amount of time, the time relative to the spacecraft with respect to earth will be approx. 146 days behind earth's time.
This means that what felt like 365 days to the astronauts was actually 365 days and .4 hours on earth or in the latter case 511 days on earth.
If the speed of the craft was .99c what seems like 1 year for the astronauts was actually 7 years on earth.
Last edited by supersix2; 04-23-2004 at 11:11 AM..
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