2006-06-12 08:53:18 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
This question comes up very regularly. If you do a search you will find it has been answered dozens of times in the past few months.
The thing you need to relaise is that the speed of light is an absolute constant. It doesn't matter what speed you are travelling at, the light will always be travelling away from you at the same speed: the speed of light.
The freaky part is that the light from your headlights would seem to be travelling away form you at the speed of light (C), but to an observer who was sitting still the light would also appears to be travelling away from them at the speed of light. How can that happen? Well it's one of the tricky bits of relativity, but part of the solution lies in understanding that although light never slows down or speeds up relative to any observer it does change frequency.
So to you the light from your headlights will look quite normal, but to someone sitting still your headlights will appear to be emitting x-rays. The light would be invisible to them.
The corrolary of that is that any light approaching your windshield will be equally shifted into the x-ray part of the spectrum. Although the headlights will be emitting visible light, any time they strike an object and reflect back they will reflect back extremely low frequency light that is invisible to the human eye.
So yes, you most ceratinly would need headlights if a car is travelling at the speed of light. Unfortunately it won't do a damn bit of good to turn on your headlights. That's not because the light won't travel, it will travel just fine. The problem will be that any light that reflects back off the road will be invisible to the human eye.
2006-06-12 12:44:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First thing is that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN THEORY (use of IF THEN statements)
This question has been asked so many times...(per theory) if you are driving your car in
space or on the earth and turn your headlights on...well since theory is that if you reach
the speed of light you become light therefore your car and you are no longer a solid
visible item. So therefore there will not be any headlights to turn on, you wont be there
to turn them on so therefore the answer is NO.
In the matter to time stretching...this is so the human mind can comprehend the speed.
At 186,282 mps you would be moving so fast so you could cover that distance in 1 second.
So in essence time does not change you are just fast enough to get more done in a second
so a second seems longer.
2006-06-12 23:03:58 · answer #2 · answered by orion_1812@yahoo.com 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That question is impossible to answer. If you can go at the speed of light, then scientists' understanding of the universe is wrong, so nobody could tell you what would happen. Although, if you could, then you would probably be able to see them, since experiments have shown that the speed of light is the same to everyone who is not accelerating, no matter how fast they are going.
2006-06-12 16:17:30 · answer #3 · answered by Amarkov 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all according to the theory of relativity your car can not go the speed of light. If you where going 99.99999999% of the speed of the light compared to the rest of the universe your headlights would still work the same from your point of view as they do now.
On the other hand they would become deadly gamma rays to anyone not traveling your speed.
2006-06-12 16:00:40 · answer #4 · answered by georgephysics13 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wow nice question very interesting hmmm as that guy said there is no way to travel fast as light but there are worm holes that let your travel through them but back to this... imagine right now your in your car and you turn on your lights ... you can see them very clearly on the streets on a very dark night... next you start moving at 80 miles per hour and still you can see your light because your moving at the same speed so if you were in space though you'll be able to see but since the sun is so bright you might need to go to the other side of earth where its dark..... but since you can see going 80 mph and your in the car you can do that in every speed possible just remember we cant travel fast as light because we'll be crushed by its gravity...but if your going to be on earth your car would be crushed by the force of air and its gravity... but in space you'll be free to see everything the headlights you wont be crushed if this gravity thing never existed but by now we be dead because gravity is the thing tat keeps earth in its place rather than falling to the end of universe..... hey tats a interesting question "is there a end of the universe?"
2006-06-12 18:37:28 · answer #5 · answered by aman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Theoretically, according to relativity, if you could drive an auto at the speed of light your vantage point would still be stationary with the headlights and light would still be travelling away from you at the speed of light!
2006-06-13 00:57:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that this question could be solved it scientists could figure out a way to match the speed of light. BUT...at the speed of light, would physical laws change??? uh-ohh
2006-06-12 17:50:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Because the friction of the air passing over the metal will cause the car to burst in to flames. This will cause the battery to explode so the headlights won't work.
2006-06-12 16:02:37 · answer #8 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, because you are going the same speed as the light.
2006-06-12 15:56:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did this the other day. I didn't see any light, but now I have no face.
2006-06-12 15:58:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋