Interstellar Travel Time and Time Dilation
This calculator explores the physics of high-speed interstellar travel using special relativity. At a constant speed v = βc (a fraction of light speed), the travel time measured by a stationary observer (like someone on Earth) is simply distance ÷ speed. But time passes more slowly for the traveler, according to the Lorentz factor γ = 1/√(1−β2), so the traveler’s own experienced (proper) time is the Earth-frame time divided by γ.
At low speeds this dilation effect is negligible, but as speed approaches the speed of light, γ grows without bound and the traveler’s clock runs dramatically slower relative to Earth’s. This is a speculative, educational exploration of relativistic kinematics assuming constant velocity (no acceleration/deceleration phases) and does not address whether such speeds are physically achievable.