starship-design: Light is not a constant, apparently...

[Steve VanDevender <stevev@efn.org>]

Kyle R. Mcallister writes:
 > Very interesting...according to relativity, the speed of light can not
 > be slowed down at all. The only 'apparent' slowing is caused by
 > refractivity changes. This is quite strange. According to science editor
 > Michael Guillen on Good Morning America, this is very bad news for
 > relativity as we know it. I tend to agree, however I am biased due to
 > the fact that I have seen FTL effects myself...;) See below:

Relativity has dealt with the existence of refractive materials
from the beginning.  At the quantum level the average slowdown of
the speed of light in a refractive material is actually caused by
delays between the absorption and re-emission of photons by
electrons in the material.  All the experimenters have done is
create a Bose-Einstein condensate with an extremely high index of
refraction.  Relativity is still fine.

And, Kyle, until you actually publish a replicable experiement
and others successfully replicate it your claims of having seen
FTL effects are completely untenable.  I don't want to hear about
how you're using some "proprietary" material in some way you
don't want to tell us about and that you won't let anyone else
touch.  It's not how science is done.