I mean, imagine you are in a really fast car travelling with your lights on illuminating the road ahead ... now if you are travelling faster than the speed of light would your headlight beam be able to 'catch up' with you and actually be in front of the vehicle, or doesn't it work like that. A question for all you Stephen Hawking geniuses out there !!
2006-11-30 05:00:39 · 11 answers · asked by gorgeousfluffpot 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
This is one of the oldest questions in the world, after Einstein came out with his special relativity. The answer is that no matter how fast you are going, your headlight beam is STILL shining ahead at the speed of light. This is exactly what the equations say, and it works. If it wasn't true, then all the giant particle smashers in the world costing billions of dollars wouldn't even work.
2006-11-30 05:09:08 · answer #1 · answered by Scythian1950 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your question doesn't work the way you stated it as no object with mass can go faster than the speed of light. For grins assume that you were going a little slower than the speed of light - say 69.99999 in a 70mph zone. Then the answer to your question would be that your headlight beam still is illuminating the road ahead.
2006-11-30 05:11:44 · answer #2 · answered by Flyboy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are 2 accessible solutions to this question, both one among which require the mind's eye that a automobile might want to boost up to the speed of sunshine. a million) the motorcar is already on the speed of sunshine, which include the filaments of the headlight bulbs. once the headlights are grew to change into on, the photons that would typically be emitted might want to immediately pile up in the reflector, inflicting the motorcar to immediately away, directly, and critically decelerate less than lightspeed. 2) because % is a relative measurement, the mild will commute at lightspeed from the headlights, as considered through the observer in the motorcar, who's likely also travelling at lightspeed. despite the indisputable fact that, an outdoors observer, who's at relative relax w/ the motorcar, does no longer see something, yet when he might want to degree it, he might want to note 2 streams of tacyhons (% of sunshine squared).
2016-10-08 00:30:02 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Though it is impossible for anything travel at the speed of light, they will be shining ahead.
But as we're on the subject, it is possible to travel forward in time, although highly impractical as we don't have the technology. If you travel at just below the speed of light in a rocket to the moon and back a few times, it will take a few moments.. but the Earth will be spinning a million years forward.
This is because time slows the faster you go. So even though you aged 5 minutes, the Earth has aged a million years.
But I was told this from a physics student at uni.. and due to my lack of physics knowledge, I don't know it is true.
2006-11-30 05:17:21 · answer #4 · answered by Aaron_J88 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't travel faster than the speed of light so any answer to this question is fantasy and has no bearing on reality. The answer to this question could literally be anything since the premise is impossible to begin with. If you were traveling faster than light, I can say that mickey mouse and the mouskateers willl appear and start doing a riverdance show for you. My answer is just as valid as any others since it's not based in reality.
2006-11-30 05:16:14 · answer #5 · answered by Louis G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A comment to Aaron_J88's post. It was calculated that an Airline pilot who retires at 65 and works for 40 years flying a 747 will on average experience a 15 second time shift over the course of their career. Lucky pilots...
2006-11-30 06:12:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were traveling at the speed of light you'd be traveling the same speed as your headlights. Wait are you talking about traveling in you car at the speed of light with your headlights on? Then your headlights would always be in front of you.
2006-11-30 05:12:44 · answer #7 · answered by sarajflower 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you cannot go faster than the speed of light, but if you could then your headlights being infront of you will still be infront of you, but I think it may look weird or something cos the time it takes to reach your brain and eyes may change
2006-11-30 05:14:50 · answer #8 · answered by Chunkylover53 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes
2006-11-30 05:10:19 · answer #9 · answered by Crazy Diamond 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How many time is this question asked?
No, the light would not 'move ahead'
2006-11-30 07:03:18 · answer #10 · answered by lulu 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋