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If you were in the back of a spaceship that was going the speed of light, but you run to the front of the ship...would you be going faster than the speed of light?

Oh...another question...how can a fly just fly around inside a moving car without smashing into the back window?

Thanks!

2007-01-03 15:44:32 · 12 answers · asked by Da Phantom 2 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

12 answers

Hi. A spaceship traveling at the speed of light would have zero length, so no further distance is traveled by moving to the front. The fly is pushed along with the air.

2007-01-03 15:50:12 · answer #1 · answered by Cirric 7 · 1 0

There is an essence of truth in most of the previous responses, however, speed is relative to some other object. If you were able to APPROACH the speed of light (c) then you moving to the front of the spaceship would be physically possible, however, in terms of earth time it may take you an eternity to accomplish this.

There is currently a theory that there may be galaxies beyond our observable universe traveling away from us at a speed greater than c. This is somewhat of a misconception, however. If one considers the rate of expansion of the universe, these distant galaxies are not traveling faster than c., they only exceed c. relative to us. And the relativity between objects velocity (besides direction) is relative to universal expansion and not to each other.

2007-01-03 16:10:52 · answer #2 · answered by Scarp 3 · 0 0

It would take so much energy to move that it becomes irrelevant and you couldn't exceed the speed of light.

The fly is carried along with the air inside the car. Open the windows so the air has a chance of standing still while the car moves and the fly will be blown away.

2007-01-03 15:48:54 · answer #3 · answered by Mike1942f 7 · 0 1

well it's hard to say...cause the closer you get to the speed of light...the heavier the mass...so it would take some kind of infinite energy source self replenishing and something the can counter-act the problem with the mass of the vehicle from reaching the speed...the main reason people want to go the speed of light is to be able to reach other planets solar sytems and galaxies and so on...but they forget in the scheme of things we have short lives...even some creatures on earth live only 24 hours others can live for thousands...trees...other than that...if it were possible...if you spit would it fly back in you face... ... ...to the other question an object in motion will stay in motion unless an outside force acts upon it...so whit the fly...if your going 50 the fly is going 50 gravity is having no real effect either will wind so ask yourself what force is acting agaist the fly that would make it fly to the back...if you stand on top a car and it comes to a dead stop what will happen...first gravity will bring you down then friction will slow you down

2007-01-03 16:42:01 · answer #4 · answered by M B 1 · 0 0

NO,you would be moving faster than the ship traveling at light speed (relativity my dear Watson).
The fly is moving in relation to the car. If you were to accelerate rapidly,you would hit the fly with the back window. If the fly was moving forward towards the front window and suddenly stopped,the fly would crash into the front window. (again-relativity)

2007-01-03 15:52:50 · answer #5 · answered by Ralph T 7 · 0 1

First off your ship cannot go at the speed of light. Nothing can. Even if your ship could go that speed and you walked forward you would not gain anything at all since nothing can go faster than the speed of light. In regards to your fly question think about this. The Earth is spinning on its axis at approximately 800 miles an hour. How are you still standing?

2007-01-03 15:51:08 · answer #6 · answered by Haven17 5 · 0 1

First question: The situation cannot arise, as no material object can move at the speed of light. Second question: the fly moves with respect to the car, not with respect to the ground. Either is a perfectly valid frame of reference, but the fly (for obvious reasons) prefers to use the car.

2007-01-03 15:49:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Think about the breezeway at the airport. When you walk on it your actual speed in relation to someone standing on the non-moving floor is the speed of the breezeway plus your walking speed. Relatively speaking (minus being flat and speed-of-light travel being impossible) to a third non-moving object, the spaceship being the first object and you the second, you would add your speed to the speed of the spaceship and would, therefore, be moving faster than the speed of light. It is called relative speed.

2007-01-03 16:03:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Ans1. Yes. you would be going faster than light.

Ans2. The fly is moving in the air inside the car which is also moving with the car so air is stationary with respect to fly. as soon as fly go outside the window it would not able to travel with car. The fact is that the fly is moving relative to air inside the car.

2007-01-03 16:30:59 · answer #9 · answered by Dhiman B 2 · 0 0

stable sufficient. Time does no longer pass slower for speedy gadgets. it sounds as though to you, assuming you're table sure, that factor is passing slower for speedy gadgets. If there are no accelerations advantages - each and every thing is consistently shifting on the equivalent speeds relative to a minimum of one yet another - then there's no thank you to tell who's moving and who's at rest. Now the twin paradox, which you variety of paraphrased right here, has 3 accelerations in it. you initiate from entertainment and attain an exceedingly intense velocity. After a time, you turn around this means which you sluggish down, you momentarily end, and you velocity as much as a intense velocity lower back. for this reason you attain earth and sluggish to a stop. At each and every acceleration, you adventure a rigidity which the earthbound individual would not so it is sparkling who's in circulation and who's at rest. as a result, you are going to return after 10 years some time maximum effectual to look for out that a plenty longer time has surpassed on the earth. Now celebrity trek assumes there is a thank you to adventure exterior of the 4 dimensional area that defines the universe - the so-properly-called subspace. in this subspace, relativity would not stick to - it is exterior the universe particularly plenty - so as to desire to pass from factor to ingredient in a finite quantity of time and, the time it takes to traverse the hollow as measured via the starship's clock may be the time that elapses interior the universe - form of no longer likely in spite of the undeniable fact that critical while you're writting one hour long television episodes. there's no information for the variety of commute use in sought after individual trek.

2016-10-06 10:05:56 · answer #10 · answered by erlebach 4 · 0 0

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