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Abstract

get there.ONE WEEK!To reach Mars, the second closest natural object on which we could land, the time required depends on several factors, mainly the two planets' favorable positioning. But it is estimated that a manned journey from Earth to Mars will take at least a little over three months.For humans, however, these numbers don’t say much. What we understand is “Wow, how far!” and “Wow, how long!”. The actual notion of what it would be like to accelerate to the excessive speeds necessary for these trips, spend the required time doing them, crossing the vacuum of space, and then slowing down to land on the respective celestial bodies is still very vague.That is why, when I came across the numbers that I will show below, I found it interesting to write this article.The maximum speed limit in the universe is the light speed, equivalent to 299,792,458 meters per second, almost 300,000 kilometers per second — or 186,411 miles per second. Despite being an absurdly high speed, if it were possible to travel on it (it’s not), it would still take a second to reach the Moon and just over a dozen minutes to reach Mars (if it were at a point close to its orbit relative to us).But it would take us

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FOUR YEARS AND A HALF to reach the star closest to us.And why did I decide to talk about the speed of light?Because I saw much more palpable figures related to it, which can give us some idea of the quantities involved.Think of a Formula One car. It’s one of the fastest cars we have, isn’t it? A Formula One car can accelerate from zero to one hundred kilometers per hour in 2.5 seconds; that is, it accelerates 27.77 meters per second.Do you know how long it would take a Formula One car to reach the speed of light, accelerating constantly?Of course, what I am proposing is impossible for several factors, but suppose it was possible to get into a Formula One car and step on the accelerator without stopping until it accelerates enough to “reach” the light.It would take 10,792,528 times 2.5 seconds, or 312 days and six hours, to reach the speed of light.TEN MONTHS in acceleration that would make you stick to the seat, barely able to breathe.It is not for nothing that we have not yet returned to the Moon. Conquering space will undoubtedly be the most significant endeavor of the human race.I hope we’re up to it!</article></body>

How to Have Some Perception About the Greatness of the Universe?

A simple mathematical operation can give us a slight perception of the quantities we are dealing with …

Can you imagine staying inside one of these, accelerating at full speed, for almost a year? Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

This is not a pretentious article whose goal is to completely change your life with essential information from the universe.

Its objective is much simpler: to try to bring the reader a notion, even if primary, of how big the universe is and, mainly, of how small and fragile we human beings are.

If you have any scientific curiosity, you may have heard a bit of these literally astronomical numbers. For example, the Moon. The closest natural object to our planet is 384,400 km from here — 238,855 miles — and we, human beings, would take, using the resources that we will soon have available, about a week to get there.

ONE WEEK!

To reach Mars, the second closest natural object on which we could land, the time required depends on several factors, mainly the two planets' favorable positioning. But it is estimated that a manned journey from Earth to Mars will take at least a little over three months.

For humans, however, these numbers don’t say much. What we understand is “Wow, how far!” and “Wow, how long!”. The actual notion of what it would be like to accelerate to the excessive speeds necessary for these trips, spend the required time doing them, crossing the vacuum of space, and then slowing down to land on the respective celestial bodies is still very vague.

That is why, when I came across the numbers that I will show below, I found it interesting to write this article.

The maximum speed limit in the universe is the light speed, equivalent to 299,792,458 meters per second, almost 300,000 kilometers per second — or 186,411 miles per second. Despite being an absurdly high speed, if it were possible to travel on it (it’s not), it would still take a second to reach the Moon and just over a dozen minutes to reach Mars (if it were at a point close to its orbit relative to us).

But it would take us FOUR YEARS AND A HALF to reach the star closest to us.

And why did I decide to talk about the speed of light?

Because I saw much more palpable figures related to it, which can give us some idea of the quantities involved.

Think of a Formula One car. It’s one of the fastest cars we have, isn’t it? A Formula One car can accelerate from zero to one hundred kilometers per hour in 2.5 seconds; that is, it accelerates 27.77 meters per second.

Do you know how long it would take a Formula One car to reach the speed of light, accelerating constantly?

Of course, what I am proposing is impossible for several factors, but suppose it was possible to get into a Formula One car and step on the accelerator without stopping until it accelerates enough to “reach” the light.

It would take 10,792,528 times 2.5 seconds, or 312 days and six hours, to reach the speed of light.

TEN MONTHS in acceleration that would make you stick to the seat, barely able to breathe.

It is not for nothing that we have not yet returned to the Moon. Conquering space will undoubtedly be the most significant endeavor of the human race.

I hope we’re up to it!