Asri-unix.1092 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:C70:sri-unix!ES@MIT-MC Tue Mar 23 21:55:52 1982 Thought experiment in general relativity The whole question was improperly posed on account of the non-existence of rigid bodies. Suppose you observe a rigid body. It has the property that when pushed at one end, all parts of it start to move simultaneously. However, to an observer moving relative to you, simultaneity is different, and the body appears nonrigid. Furthermore, a "rigid" body has an infinite speed of sound. To other observers, the speed of sound can be anywhere down to but always greater than the speed of light. To some observers sound travels backward in time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.