
Astronaut's Chronometer			Copyright (C) Moose O'Malley, 
-----------------------			March 1997.

Astronaut's Chronometer for Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, NT.

Developed using 16-bit Delphi.

This program is just a bit of a laugh really.  

Basically, I wanted to write the very first computer program 
that people could possibly use in 1,000 years time.

Astronaut's Chronometer is a clock program that people could take 
in their space ships when they travel between the stars.

According to Einstein, the faster you go :
- the slower time goes inside the space ship 
  (according to a stationary observer outside the space ship), and,
- the faster time seems go outside the space ship 
  (according to those people inside it anyway).  

So, I thought that if people are travelling at near the 
speed of light, they might want to send a message home each 
(earth) day which might only be each 5 minutes in the fast 
travelling space ship (or less !!).

This program allows you to :
- say whether you are inside the space ship or still on earth, and,
- explore the effects of speed on time for anywhere between 0% of 
  the speed of light right up to 99.999999% of the speed of light.

From this information, it displays the passing of time 
on Earth and in the space ship.

I know this program will never get used - Windows, Delphi, etc will 
not be around when people are finally travelling between the stars - 
and they certainly won't be using software like we have today.

So, it is just a bit of fun.  And it has that "I developed something
that won't be used for 1,000 years - if ever" appeal.  ;)

BTW, if anyone is interested, I have a great book on Einstein's
Theory of Relativity called "Relativity for the Layman".  
It is a great, easy going book !

Unlike all my other shareware, this program is completely
unrestricted and un-cut-down.  When the Space Shuttle
went bang and killed 7 astronauts, it was a very sad day,
and since then NASA have been incredibly cautious.

Well, I want mankind to reach for the other planets and stars,
and if this program inspires somebody else to start travelling
down this very long road, then that would be great !!

Let's face it, this planet is doomed - when the sun burns its
fuel (in ~5,000 million years), all life in this planet is finished
so we have to get off.  Because of polution, population increases,
and the rate at which natural resources are being used up, we
really need to start thinking of seriously getting off this 
planet pretty soonish - possibly within a few thousand years.

I dream of humans travelling to the stars.  I hope we or
our ancestors achieve this dream one day.


What happens at the Speed of Light ?
------------------------------------

Well, some pretty wierd shit according to good old Einstein !!

The faster you go, the slower time goes outside the spaceship, 
the heavier you (and your various appendages !!) get, and 
the longer you (and your various appendages !!) get !!

Think of the possibilities !!!!!!!!!!!! :))

At the speed of light, time passes outside at infinite speed,
you are of infinite length, and of infinite mass !!
And, you would need infinite energy to get a spaceship to
travel that fast.  Real food for thought !!

So, it probably looks like any form of human travel at the
speed of light is probably out.


The Future :
------------

I plan to extend this program when my work on other projects 
allows and the mood takes me.

Some things I could add to this program include :
- Calculation of Earth escape velocities
- Times and Distances involved in Interstellar Voyages at
  a constant acceleration - say 1 g.
- etc


Known Bugs :
------------

- None - provided Einstein is right !!


The Future :
------------

I have dug a great book on Einstein's Theory of Relativity 
called "Relativity for the Layman" out of my storage crates,
as well as a whole load of other space / physics books.  

So, expect this utility to be updated in the future.


Disclaimer of Warranty :
------------------------

This program seeks to demonstrate Einstein's theory about the
effects of speed on the passage of time.  The algorithms used 
in the program are at best rough approximations and at worst wild 
guesses.  No assumptions should be made about the accuracy 
of this program.

So, if you are an astronaut travelling at somewhere near the 
speed of light, and you use this program to schedule when
to send Birthday cards back home, and you miss their birthday 
by 3,000 years, don't come crying to me.  ;)
(Unless ofcourse it was my birthday you forgot !!)


Shareware Reviews / Awards / CDs :
----------------------------------

Version 1.0 of this program received a 3 Star rating
(out of 5) in the 1997 Ziff Davis shareware awards.
Thanks Ted !!

Version 1.0 and later of this program were distributed on 
Software USA Shareware CD's during 1997. To quote from 
Software USA's Email (May 17, 97) :
	Our Software Review Department has reviewed your 
	title and we are very impressed. We feel that it 
	suits our criteria for our many thousands of members.

Version 1.1 of this program were distributed on 
the Japanese magazine "TECH Win" (an ASCII Corporation publication)
CDs in June / July 97.

Version 1.1 of Astronaut's Chronometer was included on the 
companion CD for the book "Windows '97", by Alan Simpson.


Sharware Information :
----------------------

This is NOT free software.  This product is shareware.  

But, it only costs $5 (FIVE) dollars to buy !

This means that you can try out the software for evaluation 
purposes without charge for a period of 21 days to enable you
to decide whether to purchase / register it.

If you use this software after the 21 day evaluation period
a registration fee is required.  See the Registration Form
in the file register.txt.

Unregistered use of this software after the 21-day evaluation 
period is in violation of U.S. and international copyright laws.

If you do not purchase / register the software after the 21 day
trial period, then you must delete it from your system.

In order to encourage me to develop this software and keep 
developing other software, I encourage you to do the right 
thing and register the software.

I could have easily have made the programs nag you to Register, 
or expire after 21 days of use, but I do not like this approach.

From April 97 on, however, some of the new functionality being 
added to my programs will be available for Registered users only.
I tried to avoid doing this, but now I have been forced to do 
this to try and encourage some Registrations.

I live in the hope that if people use the programs, then they 
will register them.

Registered users will receive FREE upgrades of the program for
the life of the program.  i.e. as long as I keep improving the
program, registered users will get this new / additional 
functionality for FREE.

To Register, please complete the Registration Form in
the file register.txt.


Ammendment History :
--------------------

Vers    Date        Description
1.0     27-Mar-97   First Public Release.
1.1     09-Jun-97   Add in Registration functionality.
                    Save settings automatically on Windows 95 shutdown 
                    (Registered Users only).
                    Start Minimised if set in Shortcut / settings
                    (Registered Users only).  
                    Improve application startup - size and position 
                    form before user sees it.
                    Add in Menu items for viewing my Shareware Catalog, 
                    the Readme file, and the Registration Form.
1.2     3-Nov-98    Add in ability to explore all speeds between
                    0% and 99.999999% of the speed of light.
                    Fix an error in the passing of time - I had
                    the reverse of what really happens before.
                    Add in Einsteins actual formulas into the 
                    program, which really only see a big effect 
                    on the passage when travelling 99% of the
                    speed of light or more.
                    Display the speed of the spaceship in 
                    Miles/Hour and Km/Hour.
                    (3,223 lines of code.)
1.3    11-Jan-99    Change "Miles/Hour" and "Km/Hour" labels to be
                    the correct "Miles/Sec" and "Km/Sec".
                    (Thanks for telling me Sebastian !)
                    (3,223 lines of code.)

If this program was not downloaded from my Home Page, then
it is most likely an old version.  The latest version of this 
program is available from my Home page and its mirrors.

Moose
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 EMail         : Moose@rocknet.net.au
 Home Page     : http://www.rocknet.net.au/~moose/
 Mirrors       : See above Home Page.
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