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Re: A maximum possible acceleration?



At 12:59 11/29/97 -0400, Ludwik wrote:
... I was asking about the ultimate limit
for the linear acceleration, x''.

Is there a formal limit for the second derivative of position with
respect of time somewhere ? (in general relativity? in QCD? ...).

Ludwik Kowalski

Ludwik is not appeased with accelerations due to rotations, so I must
consider linear acceleration, which I will suppose is always due to
a force of some kind.
It is easy to discount the kinds of electric field which motivate
mechanical force, because at some point a macroscopic object will be
squashed if the acceleration is too great; the force needing to spread
over a wider area of application until a rather thin layer, perhaps
a monatomic layer is the limit.

So then I consider the force that impels particles in an accelerator.
In a one-pass arrangement, there is some limiting value of electric
field which can be arranged; the vacuum breaking down ( or permitting
ionization or plasma production ) in the limit.
It is of no avail to consider repeated accelerations of the sort
employed by cyclotrons, synchrotons et al because it is maximal
acceleration not velocity which is of interest here.
Given that the electric and magnetic forces are reflections, I will
assume a similar magnetic field limit.

Out of respect for my profound ignorance of the weak and strong nuclear
forces, I will suppose that their effect however strong is continued for so
little time and space as not to be a factor for consideration.

And so I am finally left with the force of gravity, which it appears may be
multiplied without limit and which would provide an arbitrarily large
acceleration to a particle approaching a hole of sufficient mass.


brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK