...and you turn your head lights on...do they work?
2007-04-09 14:21:19 · 26 answers · asked by ~Jenna~ 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
How come this question comes up once a week?
Trick question for you. Due to the spin of the earth around it's axis, a point on the equator is moving about 1000 miles per hour eastward. If a car on the equator drives east, will the light from it's headlights move 1000 mph slower or 1000 mph faster?
The speed of light is a constant in any frame of reference. So no matter what direction you travel, or how fast you drive, the headlights will work exactly the same.
2007-04-09 14:53:48 · answer #1 · answered by anywherebuttexas 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sorry, Dave, I've heard that question many times, and I know my answer is not satisfying, but you can't travel faster than the speed of light. It's sort of like asking if I play a trumpet as loud as I can, can I cause the vibrations produced to not make sound waves. By definition, sound is a vibration through a medium, so how can you vibrate a medium and not vibrate a medium at the same time?
2016-05-21 02:54:00 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you are the source of the light. Think of it this way.
You're driving in your car, and you throw a baseball out the window in the same direction that the car is moving. You will see the baseball move forward relative to the car. If there was no air, the baseball would keep moving forward (frictionless environment) but since the car is moving through air, as is the baseball, the ball will slow down and then eventually stop.
In the case of your headlights, light is electromagnetic energy not affected greatly by the resistance caused by air. You are therefore projecting, or launching, light in the same direction as the car. Therefore the light produced by your car moves at the speed of light in front of the car, and will be travelling at twice the speed of light if you are travelling at the speed of light.
2007-04-09 14:26:09 · answer #3 · answered by FourWheelDave 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The speed of light is a constant, it does not matter how fast an object is moving, if it emits light, it will always travel at the same rate. not like throwing a ball while on your bike.
We are learning the universe has some stop signs, and right now it is considered to be impossible to surpass the speed of light, but who knows what may happen in the future.
2007-04-09 14:25:39 · answer #4 · answered by eldeeder 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sure they will turn on but since you are going faster than the speed of light, your light beams would flow over the car and light up where you had been. I done this in the 1950's with a studeybaker
2007-04-09 14:40:24 · answer #5 · answered by bungee 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know where you got that statement. I can't remember the comedians name but he has a very dry sense of humor, never cracking a smile. The fact is, as scientists have proven, once you reach half the speed of light you will begin to slow down. I'm not sure how that works as I am not smart enough to be a scientist but the fact remains it is impossible for us to travel at the speed of light.
BUT, to answer your question I would say no. If you put a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room would they cancel each other out? 8~)
WAIT ... I do remember his name now ... Steven Wright.
2007-04-09 14:27:22 · answer #6 · answered by Average Joe 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
no, since the speed of light is impossible to achieve without being light itself. the gravity would be too intense to have a machine to travel that fast.you would be crushed
the answer is no, unless somehow you change the laws of physic's. in which case, anything is possible.
but if this is wrong. observable light would be slower then you so you wouldn't see the light. like the sonic boom of a plane there would be a light spectrum boom or something.this is speculative and unknown.
What if I could divide by zero.is the same line of thinking. you cant do it.
thats why scifi use worm holes as a means to travel great distances in small amounts of time.
2007-04-09 14:28:24 · answer #7 · answered by crojon 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, they do. But I'm not going to discuss quantum physics with someone not aware of the difference between "your" and "you're".
But the ticket you are going to get for going that fast is going to be really high as far as a fine. The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second, assuming a speed limit of even 70 and you are more than 15 over.
2007-04-09 14:28:45 · answer #8 · answered by oklatom 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Djoesn't matter. If you go faster than the speed of light, then you are looking at where you have been before you get there, so you would have to look in the rear view mirror to see where you are going.
Think about that.
2007-04-09 14:26:34 · answer #9 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The light would not be visible to an observer in fact nothing would be visible except for you. And you can go faster than light, as they have recorded protons that will exceed light speed but only for milliseconds
2007-04-09 14:30:09 · answer #10 · answered by redd headd 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋