imagine two beams of light (like laser) in the space.....based on the theory of relativity, imagine someone riding one beam and trying to measure the speed of the other beam..... will it be C or zero??
2006-09-13 15:26:53 · 14 answers · asked by Calgarian_man 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
a great question.
unfortunately, the answer is not so simple.
your question involves understanding relativity at its deepest level.
an observer's motion is always defined relative to another object ( never against the speed of light because that is ALWAYS constant for all observers ).
think about that for a bit.
because an observer's speed depends on the reference point, it is an ARBITRARY value. this why nothing except light can travel at the speed of light ! ( it depends on what the observer is measuring his speed against ).
say you are moving at 99% of "c" relative to one star. if you measured your speed against another object moving at 99% of "c", then your speed is zero. so how fast are you going ? it all depends on your frame of reference ( according to relativity ).
if you compared your speed to a beam of light, then its speed would always be "c".
two objects moving at different relative speeds always measure the same speed of light BECAUSE they experience space and time differently.
if you actually were to consciously move at the speed of light and measure another beam of light, this would be a meaningless act because at the speed of light, time is frozen.
(there is no value of speed as it is infinite.)
the answer to your question:
a conscious being moving at the speed of light experiences no time and a foreshortened space ( a point ) and the measurement of speed ( a function of space and time ) has no logical meaning.
sorry bout the crappy answer but that is the reality.
:)
2006-09-13 16:19:51 · answer #1 · answered by fullbony 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
ok, adult males, all of us understand not something with mass can circulate mild velocity; so enable's play "what if" besides. the respond is, mild in a vacuum is going the value cut back, the value of sunshine in a vacuum, no rely what or the place. So the relative velocity W = V + C = C the place V is the source and C is the mild coming from the source. it is not legerdemain right here, that is physics. Time and area alter on the source to maintain C at C no rely what V there may be. C is invariant. and that's an noted actuality of the Michelson Morley experiments that have been given AE questioning why. His answer became that area and time adjust to save C at C no rely what; he printed this via fact the particular theory of relativity in 1905. by way of a mild of hand stated as the Lorentz Transformation, we are in a position to tutor that W = (V + C)/(a million + VC/C^2) is the relative velocity of sunshine C coming from a source at velocity V. So if that source is shifting V = C (ok relax, it is what if), then the relative velocity is W = (C + C)/(a million + CC/C^2) = 2C/2 = C. And there you're. That mild is shifting at C and not C + C = 2C.
2016-10-14 23:42:18 · answer #2 · answered by lander 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the speed of light is always C, no matter how fast you're moving.
If you're on one beam measuring the other it would be C, but if you're measuring both from the outside... then it would be zero. It all depends on the state of the viewer.... and as a side note... it would be impossible to "ride the beam" because even if you accelerate up to C, the beam you're "riding" would still be going away from you at C from your perspective.
2006-09-13 15:28:42 · answer #3 · answered by metropolispt314 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they are parallel and moving in the same direction then the relative speed between them would be ZERO
except for the negligible bending of the light due to gravities or other huge mas around them
2006-09-13 15:32:51 · answer #4 · answered by joey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lest it be forgotten, you CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT go the speed of light. at the speed of light time dilation is such that one second lasts forever. one meter is also reduced to nothing relative to the rest frame. as such, there is no way to even begin to measure velocity. a photon (part of the light you're talking about, doesn't see time or distance as it propegates). now, assume that you're going at 99.9% of the speed of light... unrealistic, but physically possible... because one second has stretched out, and one meter has gotten "shorter" you would still see the laser beams pass you by at the speed of light. that's just the way it goes.
2006-09-13 21:33:50 · answer #5 · answered by promethius9594 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would always be 299792458 m/s by the Maxwell equations of electromagnetism the speed of light is constant which does not depend on the motion of the observer trying to measure it.
2006-09-13 15:44:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
One another major question. Depends on the medium that the light is moving on. The left one could be moving in air and the right in glass for all you know. =)
Then,the optical density would be different,causing a difference in speed.
2006-09-14 03:57:16 · answer #7 · answered by Cheng J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if relative speed is different from speed, but the speed of light is 300,000 meters per second.
2006-09-13 15:29:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Acutally, relative speed might be zero, because both are going C.
2006-09-13 15:28:45 · answer #9 · answered by VanMan6 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
constant, light moves at the same speed.
2006-09-13 15:29:17 · answer #10 · answered by boilermakersnoopy433 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋