logoalt Hacker News

rrr_oh_mantoday at 8:31 AM2 repliesview on HN

> math get's really counterintuitive to grasp

People always say that about speed of light stuff, but I don’t get it. Do you have any more examples of counterintuitive math?

Because what you’re describing is basically the equivalent to compound interest in finance. (e.g. investing $100 at 10% interest over 10 years results in $260)


Replies

MathMonkeyMantoday at 9:04 AM

The proper time (that is, the time the traveler measures on a clock) goes to zero very quickly towards the end. Even with both axes plotted logarithmically, it's just a sudden drop at the end towards light speed.

- [pic](https://home.davidgoffredo.com/hackernews/proper-time-one-li...)

- [plot](https://home.davidgoffredo.com/hackernews/proper-time-one-li...)

show 1 reply
jeanlucastoday at 8:37 AM

One million seconds is 11 days, a billion seconds is 31 years.

show 1 reply