Can the Flash Warp Time?
Keywords:
Comic, TV programme, Special relativity, Superhero, The Flash, Barry AllenAbstract
CW’s The Flash is capable of reaching speeds of 17150 ms-1. Due to special relativity, time will pass more slowly for The Flash when travelling at these high speeds causing him to experience less time than stationary people around him. By using the Lorentz Transforms the difference in time elapsed can be estimated. It was found that at The Flash’s current top speed it would take 20.8 years of running in order for a time difference of one second to be noticed. In the comic books The Flash can travel at much greater speeds. If he ran at 99% of the speed of light, a stationary observer would experience one hour of time for every 8.5 minutes that The Flash experiences.
References
Stack Exchange (2016). What is Barry Allen aka The Flash’s Top Speed? Available at: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/109879/what-is-barry-allens-aka-the-flashs-top-speed [Accessed 21 February 2016].
Hadhazy, A. (2015) How fast could humans travel safely through space? Available at: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150809-how-fast-could-humans-travel-safely-through-space [Accessed 9 January 2017].
Holmes, A. (2014) The Flash is Getting More Superpowers Soon, Here Are The Details. Available at: http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Flash-Getting-More-Powers-Soon-Here-Details-68480.html [Accessed 9 January 2017].
Harris, R. (2007) Modern Physics 2nd Edition, Chapter 4. Pearson.
DC Database (2017) Flash (Barry Allen). Available at: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Flash_(Barry_Allen) [Accessed 11 January 2017].
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