Originally posted by dehammer:
going over the sites i had used to learn about relativity, i can to a sudden realization.
when discussion speed and time dilation WE'RE ALL WRONG . its not speed that is involved, its acceleration that is the key. time dilation occurs during accleration so it does not matter what the other person speed is in relation ship to you.
a positive acceleration causes a negative time dilation (slowing of time, causing things away from you to appear to speed up) while a negative acceleration (commonly called deceleration) causes a positive dilation (the universe appears to slow down). it does not matter that from your point of reference (relative to you) the other person is moving away at .8 light speed), if he did not acclerate one way or the other he is not affected by time dilation. If you did, it will affect you.
Wow! you have come a long way. You are nearly there. Time dilation is an "illusion" when you look at the time within a reference moving at a constant speed relative to you. Similarly the person moving with a constant speed relative to you will "see" a time dilation within your reference frame. Finally you have grasped the fact that "real time dilation" only occurs within a reference frame when it accelerates (or decelerates). However, there is no "positive" and "negative" time dilation. A clock actually ticks slower when it is accelerated or decelerated; which is the same as the clock finding it in a larger gravitational field. Keep up the good work! We have not "all been wrong". You are finally approaching the truth. Congratulations!!!
