I talked to my buddy who is currently enrolled in college for physics about your talk of FTL, and he had a few things to say...
My Buddy:well, first off, you can't travel faster than the speed of light.
because your mass would approach infinity the faster you went.
TWOxACROSS:Yeah, but this is a fictional setting, so everyone is like "OMG it's a gayum, it can totally happen."
My Buddy:and the energy required to move the mass would also become infinite.
So his statement about moving back in time and not bumping into anything has no basis.
unless you're referring to the star trek movie where they went faster than the speed of light and went back in time to save some whales.
if people pull the 'omg it's a gayum" thing, then why have the discussion in the first place?
(also, the back in time spiel could also be the bit about particles with virtually no mass being able to move backwards in time... and since they are subatomic particles, they wouldn't encounter aerodynamic heating)
but the point there is that those particles have virtually no mass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon
In any case, this guy needs to cite his sources.
TWOxACROSS:Oh tachyons~ <3
Yeah, and if during his iaido he has no mass, allowing him to move FTL...wouldn't his sword not do any damage?
Because it has no mass.
My Buddy:lol
yeah, cuz it probably wouldn't interact with normal matter.
So he could move faster than light all he wants, but it's not going to let him hurt anything.
either almost no mass or he'd have to have infinite mass...
and infinite mass would cause him to collapse in on himself.
I then showed him the post I'm quoting you on (which I've removed for space's sake), and he said a bit more about it...
My Buddy:Also, that bit about "space warping" is idiotic because he states that it's never been done before and therefore he has no evidence as to how it would appear... and to indiate that the case in the videogame is how it would appear is pointless and makes no sense. Especially since the only theories derived about this junk relates to subatomic particles.
the only way he could move FTL is if he somehow was able to displace space and time to create a warp bubble... and this is waaaaaay theoretical and physicists are not in agreement about it. see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive
TWOxACROSS:Yeah, maybe he thinks because there's the bubble that cuts up enemies.
My Buddy:*shrug* then the question there is how would he generate such a bubble?
(see the mass-energy requirement) of the article.
TWOxACROSS:So, most of his science is extremely theoretical, and he's just appropriating it all to support his case.
Like trying to convict someone of a crime with imaginary evidence.
My Buddy:yep
TWOxACROSS:Hrm.
Well.
It's fun talking theoretical physics
My Buddy:Conceptually, sure. Mathematically... not so much.
Heheh. He knows I don't like math
I dunno what you wanna take from that, but...yeah...I trust my buddy, because he's pretty goddamn smart >.>