FASTER-THAN-LIGHT MOVEMENTS AND TIME SHIFT

This section shows how Time Shift occurs in faster-than-light movements.

TIME SHIFT IN FASTER-THAN-LIGHT MOVEMENTS
OBJECTS APPROACHING EACH OTHER
If an object moves at a speed greater than the speed of light, the direction of the Apparent Time flow ahead of its motion will reverse. In other words, the time flow in Image Objects will invert. For example, if an object approaches us at a speed faster than light, the Apparent Time flow in the Image Object will be reversed.

The animation above demonstrates why and how the Apparent Time flow inverts. Signal markers and their behavior are explained in the animations in Chapter 1 of Time Shift.

Let’s set the animation to a value of 1.8 c. When we start the animation, the clock moves towards the observer while emitting signals. Pay attention to the sequence of the signal numbers. Since the clock moves faster than light, the last signal emitted will arrive at the observer first. This creates a reversed Apparent Time flow for the observer. Once the clock aligns with the observer's position, we see that the signals start arriving at the observer. From this moment, the Image Object of the clock will take its position based on the number of the signal reaching the observer. As we see in the animation, the observer perceives that the Image Object of the clock is moving away from them and that the flow of time on the clock is also reversed.

The reverse flow of Apparent Time and the formation of the Inverse Image are closely related. You can observe the formation of the Inverse Image in subsequent sections.

Here, you can observe how Apparent Time changes when objects approach each other by assigning different values to the animation. The values in the radio buttons configure the speed of the clock (Source Object). The rotation direction of the Image Object’s hand indicates the direction of Apparent Time flow. You can precisely observe the speed of time flow through the timers. The ratio of the two times will show whether the time flow accelerates or decelerates.

TIME SHIFT IN FASTER-THAN-LIGHT MOVEMENTS
OBJECTS MOVING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER
Whether moving faster or slower than light, when objects are moving away from each other, Apparent Time flow changes but does not reverse.

Here, you can observe how Apparent Time changes when objects move away from each other by assigning different values to the animation. You can find more information about TIME in the book.