# How would you keep time in space with FTL travel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917 "2010-04-30T22:48:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/21 "2010-05-01T23:32:23Z")
It should also be noted that what constitutes a “significant fraction” of c depends on precisely how you’re measuring the effects. You probably have equipment lying around the house capable of detecting relativistic effects from things traveling at a centimeter a minute, or so. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/22 "2010-05-02T03:25:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Stardates. 🙂 > > Actually, the time of day shouldn’t be a problem on the ship. Once you landed on the planet, you’d try to adjust things for the planetary day. Incidentally, [here’s the Master’s take](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/822/in-star-trek-what-exactly-are-star-dates) on star dates and FTL timekeeping. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/23 "2010-05-02T07:38:52Z")
If I recall correctly, the only real law is that the C barrier cannot be crossed. There’s nothing preventing objects from starting out above C. How does that factor into things? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/24 "2010-05-02T07:58:02Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > If I recall correctly, the only real law is that the C barrier cannot be crossed. There’s nothing preventing objects from starting out above C. How does that factor into things? It gets around the infinite energy problem, but not the time travel problem. And that is either impossible or involves rules we don’t understand; so we can’t say what would happen, only speculate. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/25 "2010-05-02T12:26:52Z")
Tachyons are theoretical (I use that term non-scientifically) particles that do just that. They travel at FTL. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917/26 "2010-05-02T23:56:37Z")
The simplest solution would be to do your FL travel in a Newtonian universe. Time would be constant in all reference frames - no need to reset your watch (except for starlight savings time). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-keep-time-in-space-with-ftl-travel/537917.md?page=1)