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http://www.dailytech.com/Einsteins+Special+Theory+of+Relativity+Get+Warp+Speed+Extension/article27913.htm
Einstein's theory of Special Relativity says that as a body accelerates, time slows down.  Imagine that you are on the Millennium Falcon.  Also imagine that you are passing by the planet Hoth at 50% of the speed of light.  To illustrate the concept of Special Relativity we will say that the Death Star is nearby and Darth Vader observes you passing by Hoth at 50% of the speed of light.  If the Death Star flashes a powerful beam of light towards Hoth and the Millennium Falcon, this is what Special Relativity says will happen:      If someone on Hoth measures the time it takes for the light to arrive, calculations will show that the speed of light is about 300,000,000 m/s.  Now you measure the time it takes for the light beam to reach you on the Millennium Falcon (remember that you are traveling at half the speed of light!) and your calculations will show that the speed at which the light reached you is ALSO 300,000,000 m/s.  You would think that it would be half of that speed since you are traveling away from the Death Star at half the speed of light.  How can this be?  Time dilation due to Special Relativity.      This theory was actually tested.  "Among other experimental verifications, a synchronized atomic clock flown on a jet airliner for an extended duration of time will show infinitesimal discrepancies when compared to the clocks with which it was synchronized upon its return.  This proves that, while negligible at speeds typical on Earth, these acceleration time-distortion effects are ever-present." (McGee)
Photo by Jason Slats
This equation shows that as your velocity on the Millennium Falcon increases, time for you is increasingly slower compared to your counterpart standing on Hoth.
https://goldenstate.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/light.gif Cartoon by Bill Watterson
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