Atoms are what make up matter. If something is solid it is made up of atoms. Whether the stick ripples, compresses or whatever doesnt matter, its how long or if the force of impact is felt at the ship if the length of the stick is 1 light year long.
I know atoms make up everything including solids. I'm just saying hypotheticaly speaking imaging a stick with no weak points and is one light year long... if it has no weak point it shouldn't deform, possibly compress but that would all be enertia compressing it so i'm wondering if inertia can do that or will it just have to defy einstein and hit the brick wall as you push it?
So you're basically asking when the signal gets to the ship that they have hit a brick wall? Either way, the stick being a light year long is just a distance, the rate the signal travels through the stick is equal to the impact force, mass times velocity. Assuming that the force doesnt slow as it travels through the stick than take that value and divide it into the length of the stick 1.2284064^13 Miles . To simplify it lets make the stick weigh one kilogram and have it conduct the force of impact perfectly from one end to the other. The force travels at 10,000Km/h back to the ship. The ship is not moving anymore because it has hit a brick wall. However, the back of the ship, like the rest of it, was moving at 10,000 km/h so the ship would indeed implode back to front with the two forces meeting in the middle of the stick, both forces would hit each other with equal force. So all in all everyone onboard dies. If the ship too is indestructable like the stick than the ship would have to have been able to absorb the entire impact, therefore the ship would be intact but everyone inside would continue to move at 10,000km/h. My guess is a very large mop would be needed to clean the crushed bodies strewn about in the front of the ship. The force would lead from the back of the ship to the wall with the force from the wall meeting the force from the ship somewhere in the middle of the giant stick. I think they might even reflect off each other and the force would bouce back and forth forever since the stick nor the ship absorb any of the shock. Of course none of this is possible but there is your explanation.
I don't mean like a hitting/impact against the stick to make it move though. Say the stick is just moving and is incompressable and impacts the wall. It should if all the force is disspated into the stick bounce back and be able to be percieved at both ends at the same time however according to science its impossible so i'm wondering why that is. I think i remember the theory of relativity and stuff but i can't remeber clearly enough.
I've got another situation. A stick just like my other one which can't be deformed is fixed at one end to a rotating point. The stick won't bend so will the end move at the same time as the base if it is one light year long or longer?
Interestingly enough, that exact rotation idea came up in the same conversation as the rocket/stick/brick wall.
I guess it comes down to the fact that only at these extreme distances and extreme velocities (relatively extreme of course) do we really start to see different properties of relativity present themselves in a way that is general imperceptible to us.
For example if the stick is spinning at say 1 revolution per second, then the end point of the stick would be moving greater than the speed of light (3.14*(1 light year^2)). This, according to relativity, is impossible. So what does this unbenable stick do? I am not entirely sure. Maybe some first or second year physics/engineering students can enlighten me.
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