Quantum Mechanics

[Scotskerb]

Could quantum physics be applied to the game? Like the rules about the speed of light? For example, as a spacecraft approaches 300,000 km/s, its mass could approach ∞, making it impossible to reach the speed of light. And there could be redshifts and blueshifts as things like spacecraft, planets and asteroids moved together and apart at really high speeds. And I'm sure other quantum physics could be applied as well, like maybe using particle accelerators as a form of thrust. I think this would be an incredibly interesting challenge.

[Canopus]

What would that add to the game though? You will never travel close to the speed of light in KSP.

[Captain Sierra]

Its incredibly difficult to reach c without mods, cheats, or the Kraken deeming you unworthy and flinging you from the system. As such, you're suggesting a rather complicated segment of code for a scenario that will almost never be reached. Leaving quantum mechanics out of the universe is an acceptable abstraction from a game design perspective.

EDIT: partially ninja'd. My post was not fast enough and the Kraken may yet deem it unworthy.

[Kaos]

Quantum mechanics has nothing to do with speed of light. Even particle accelerators do not require quantum mechanics. We even havo those (Xenon). And I think the sun uses quantum mechanics to produce heat, which then produces light. This light empowers solar arrays for your spacecraft, with the help of quantum mechanics.

Concrete ideas how to further include quantum mechanics might be used and are more helpful than just to suggest quantum mechanics for its own sake.

I for myself qould indeed like to build a neutrino detector on another planet (or something different which you nearly cannot finish without local ressources). But it might be not worth the effort in the current state of the game where other important features are still missing.

[KSK]

<Pedant> - you're mixing up relativistic effects with quantum effects. </pedant>

Like Kaos said, you could regard the ion thrusters as a kind of particle accelerator, and like Captain Sierra said, it seems like a lot of code to add to the game for something that you'll almost certainly never see without mods or bugs.

Darn it - double if not triple ninja'd.

If you want to try this in a limited fashion, you could download RemoteTech (or whatever the current version is called). It adds a lot more detail and challenge to un-crewed missions, including signal delays as your ships get further away from Kerbin.

[Red Iron Crown]

Not to be blunt, but what is the point? It's impossible for a stock craft to reach anywhere remotely close to speeds where relativistic effects are significant without cheating/glitching, it's extremely challenging (and dull) to get a vessel up to 0.01% of lightspeed. I find it hard to think that implementing these effects is a good use of developer time when there are much more relevant things to fix or add.

[Mister Dilsby]

No stock ship will get near c, true, but it would actually be relevant to account for the time and mass dilation effects caused by gravity. This effect was measured in the Apollo missions and even in high-altitude atmospheric ships. Basically, for the game to be correct time has to move at different rates for all ships depending on which SOI they're in. For a ship on a long trajectory to Jool, time experienced by those Kerbals would differ from time experienced at KSC by... well... several seconds, maybe.

Yeah, let's just fix the fairings and the wheels first.

[Rath]

Quantum mechanics has nothing to do with speed of light. Even particle accelerators do not require quantum mechanics. We even havo those (Xenon). And I think the sun uses quantum mechanics to produce heat, which then produces light. This light empowers solar arrays for your spacecraft, with the help of quantum mechanics.

Concrete ideas how to further include quantum mechanics might be used and are more helpful than just to suggest quantum mechanics for its own sake.

I for myself qould indeed like to build a neutrino detector on another planet (or something different which you nearly cannot finish without local ressources). But it might be not worth the effort in the current state of the game where other important features are still missing.

The sun is a giant fusion reactor that produces light