The Heretics Penitence: A Sermon on Special Relativity Abstract

It is often said that the Theory of (Special) Relativity means that ‘you cannot go faster than the speed of light’. The Theory actually says that all speeds are relative to your frame of reference, so, by definition, you cannot ‘go at’ any speed. We show how, accelerating at 1g, you would get to the centre of the galaxy, 26,000 light years away, in 11 years and how long it would take to return.

We explore the consequences of this, showing how very simple speeds applied to a Mississippi paddle steamer explain the ‘Time Dilation’ effect and how a couple of brothers on ships out at sea can illustrate the ‘Twins Paradox’.

We show how these effects link to ball-waves travelling at high speeds relative to us, expanding on earlier heresies.