Travel to the stars requires hundreds or thousands of years, even at the speed of light. Some people have suggested that we can get around this difficulty by accelerating the rocket (and its astronauts) to very high speeds so that they will age less due to time dilation. The fly in this ointment is that it takes a great deal of energy to do this. Suppose you want to go to the immense red giant Betelgeuse, which is about 500 light-years away. You plan to travel at constant speed in a 1000 kg rocket ship (a little over a ton), which, in reality, is far too small for this purpose. Part K If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c, calculate the energy needed in joules. Express your answer in joules. VO AEO ? E = J Submit Request Answer Part L If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c, calculate energy needed as a percent of U.S. yearly use (which is 1.0 x 1020 J). Express your answer as a percentage.

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**Interstellar Travel and Energy Calculations**

Travel to the stars requires hundreds or thousands of years, even at the speed of light. Some people have suggested that we can get around this difficulty by accelerating the rocket (and its astronauts) to very high speeds so that they will age less due to time dilation. The challenge is that it requires a great deal of energy to achieve this.

Suppose you want to travel to the immense red giant Betelgeuse, which is about 500 light-years away. You plan to travel at constant speed in a 1000 kg rocket ship (slightly over a ton), which, realistically, is far too small for this purpose.

**Part K**

- **Task**: If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c (where c is the speed of light), calculate the energy needed in joules.
- **Prompt**: 
  - Express your answer in joules.
  - Input Box: \( E = \) [J] 

**Submit Button**: [Submit]
- **Request Answer Button**: [Request Answer]

**Part L**

- **Task**: If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c, calculate the energy needed as a percent of U.S. yearly use (which is \(1.0 \times 10^{20} \text{ J}\)).
- **Prompt**: 
  - Express your answer as a percentage.
  - Input Box: \( E = \) [% of the U.S. yearly use of energy]

**Submit Button**: [Submit]
- **Request Answer Button**: [Request Answer]

These calculations illustrate the immense energy requirements for near-light-speed travel, highlighting the challenges of interstellar exploration.
Transcribed Image Text:**Interstellar Travel and Energy Calculations** Travel to the stars requires hundreds or thousands of years, even at the speed of light. Some people have suggested that we can get around this difficulty by accelerating the rocket (and its astronauts) to very high speeds so that they will age less due to time dilation. The challenge is that it requires a great deal of energy to achieve this. Suppose you want to travel to the immense red giant Betelgeuse, which is about 500 light-years away. You plan to travel at constant speed in a 1000 kg rocket ship (slightly over a ton), which, realistically, is far too small for this purpose. **Part K** - **Task**: If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c (where c is the speed of light), calculate the energy needed in joules. - **Prompt**: - Express your answer in joules. - Input Box: \( E = \) [J] **Submit Button**: [Submit] - **Request Answer Button**: [Request Answer] **Part L** - **Task**: If the rocket ship's speed is 0.9999c, calculate the energy needed as a percent of U.S. yearly use (which is \(1.0 \times 10^{20} \text{ J}\)). - **Prompt**: - Express your answer as a percentage. - Input Box: \( E = \) [% of the U.S. yearly use of energy] **Submit Button**: [Submit] - **Request Answer Button**: [Request Answer] These calculations illustrate the immense energy requirements for near-light-speed travel, highlighting the challenges of interstellar exploration.
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