Momentum Conservation Debate
The cluster focuses on debates about conservation of momentum and energy in variable mass systems, particularly whether a spacecraft can accelerate by converting mass to photons without violating conservation laws.
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Energy conservation and momentum conservation are different
Yeah he said momentum, not energy.
Just turn the energy into mass, duh.
It could if momentum isn’t conserved.
Wouldn't momentum transfer from the consumed mass slow it down?
It can if it loses mass, correct? Energy conservation would result in increased momentum.
Wait, there’s no conservation of energy?
Wouldn't this also violate conservation of energy? A particle with any mass, traveling at the speed of light, would have infinite energy. And accelerating a particle to that speed would "push back" on the earth with infinite force, so it might also break conservation of momentum.
"Convert energy to mass" does not make much sense. If you throw light away, it'll propel you.
The mass+energy still have to sum up though, don't they?