2006-08-16 05:07:20 · 15 answers · asked by boring g 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
There is but one thing to remember about all this speed of light hocus pocus...nothing changes for the traveler who is traveling close to the speed of light. As far as that traveler is concerned and sees, the headlight beams will work just fine (assuming of course the vehicle survives the enormous forces created by the acceleration to but not reaching the SOL). (By the way "at the speed of light" has no meaning because all kinds of bad things, like singularities, happen in the equations. Near the speed of light is feasible and doable in subatomic particles.)
Normalcy for the traveler does not mean normalcy for the outside observer however. The outside observer will see the traveler's time dilate (slow down), the mass of the vehicle increase many fold, and its length in the direction of travel shrink to near zero.
If the length of the vehicle shrinks to near zero, the length of the headlight beams has to also shrink to near zero; so their length remains relatively (which is why we call it relativity) the same compared to the vehicle length from the traveler's point of view.
If all this is giving you a headache, take two aspirins and see your PhD in the morning.
2006-08-16 08:13:09 · answer #1 · answered by oldprof 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In atmosphere? the light would be behind you. Because it would be travelling through elements in the air. Those would slow it down enough that you would not see the light ahead of you. The lights would be on and you could probably see a glow from them, but the light would not reach out ahead of you.
In space.. thats different, and although I dont know how that would work. Sensors would be used to see, lights would only work great at slow speeds, such as docking to a structure or another ship or landing somewhere.
Realistically, any ship travelling at the speed of light would have NO need for lights. Sensors would be the key. Hydrasar, active pings, or whatever. We would need sophisticated sensor suites to detect gravitometric anomlies, masses, heat, infrared spectrums and all that stuff.
Keep in mind that light travels (unhindered) 299,972 kilometers per second. Thats 186,411.30 miles per second.
The earth only has a diameter (equatorial I believe) of 12,756 kilometers (7,972 miles)
SO! This is a pretty far out question considering you would leave earths atmosphere going that fast in 0.042765647790665050884790782533033 seconds.
The human body cannot travel at the speed of light unless the processs "jumps" us from one location to another instantaneously. OR, we develop inertial dampeners.
2006-08-16 12:31:57 · answer #2 · answered by sbravosystems 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They would not work, The light from the headlights would have to accelerate to twice the speed of light in order to work, they would come on but they would provide no light for you, and others could not see the light. The only reason head lights can be seen on earth is because the light reaches us long before the object does. But if the light and object are traveling at the saem speed. we would be hit by the object by the time we saw it.
2006-08-16 12:29:11 · answer #3 · answered by Joe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well since headlights are light and your travelling at the speed of light I guess they would work just the same. All anybody would see would be a very bright blur, if anything at all.
2006-08-16 12:19:57 · answer #4 · answered by loonyTunes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that since your headlights are connected to the car and would be traveling at the speed of light also that they would work and would continue traveling relative to the speed of the car.
2006-08-16 12:15:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
To you, the light is traveling at the speed of light in one direction, and everything else is traveling at the speed of light in the opposite direction.
To an outside observer, 47.
2006-08-16 12:14:30 · answer #6 · answered by knivetsil 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To you, the beam moves ahead of you.
To an outside observer, the beam moves at the same speed as you.
Now, note that in all other cases (you moving slower at the speed of light), the beam of light will move ahead of you in both cases (you and an outside observer).
The diference in your and the outside world's observations is a paradox, which is only resolved if an oberver cannot travel at the speed of light.
2006-08-16 12:30:02 · answer #7 · answered by dennis_d_wurm 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You'd have the ability to see the cops you blow past as you're going the speed of light.
2006-08-16 12:18:41 · answer #8 · answered by tiffanywood31 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't go with speed of light
because your m when you go with speed v is (m0 is your mass when you are stopped)
m= m0/ Sqrt(1-v/c)
then v=c the m is infinite and :
f=ma
then you should a infinite force to get speed of light and you cannot supply infinte force
2006-08-16 12:27:27 · answer #9 · answered by IsaacArsenal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have pondered that same question for the past 23 years of sleep-less nights. Stephen Hawking... DAMN YOU!
2006-08-16 12:31:41 · answer #10 · answered by Krzysztof_98 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋