in a '57 Chevy and turned on your headlights, would the light from the headlights travel faster than the speed of light?
2007-05-12 14:03:37 · 11 answers · asked by upcguineapig 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
depends whether it has a 2 barrel or 4 barrel carb
2007-05-12 14:06:53 · answer #1 · answered by bombaybubba 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I guess it isn't a normal 57 chevy.
This is the same question that lead Einstein to the simple theory of relativity. The answer is counter intuative and weird.
It is impossible for an object with mass/weight it is to ever reach the speed of light. Instead consider the car is traveling at 99.9% of the speed of light.
Light in a vacume will always travel at 3x10^8 m/s relative to the observer. If you are the driver of the speed limit breaking car the light will travel away from you at 3x10^8 m/s. In one second the light beam will be 300,000 km in front of you.
To your twin brother who is watching you from the side of the road he will measure the speed of your light beams at 3x10^8 m/s relative to him. In one sec the light beam will be 300,000 km away from him.
Intuition says that this must be wrong, it cant be the same but it is intuition that is wrong. It can be the same if Time is different for the driver and the watcher. The personal time for the driver is much slower than the personal time for your twin who is watching. So much slower that when you have stopped the car (which could take a few years considering your speed) and made your way back to him he will be an old man as would any police wating to give you a speeding fine.
It isn't only time that is affected by speed but mass is increased and length is shortened.
your 1 ton car will weigh much more!
remember newtons formula Force = mass x acceleration
at 99.9% of the speed of light your car weighs more than 1 ton if you accelerate to 99.99% it will weigh even more. Each time it goes faster its mass increases and you need more force to accelerate. At the speed of light the your car would be infinately heavy and you will have used an infinate amount of force and energy to get it to that speed. This is why 3x10^8 m/s is the 1 speed limit your amasing car wil not be breaking
2007-05-13 00:51:27 · answer #2 · answered by colin p 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No apparently not because of course nothing can go faster despite the fact that you are supposedly giving the light additional momentum and energy. I guess this comes from light being more energy than particle so it is impervious to momentum (but affected by gravity and so who knows). Another question that I recently asked a physics student is if you are going 99% of the speed of light and turn on the headlights, would they appear to get slowly farther in front of you (assuming you could see the light whereever it was). Up to that point I had thought that because of relativity (personal time slowing down for you) the lights would really get slowly more in front of you, but to you they would appear to move at the speed of light because your time is slowed down so much. However, the physics students I asked did some rought equations and told me that it would look like they went at about 30 ft/sec compared to you. I'm still not sure why.
2007-05-12 23:01:27 · answer #3 · answered by ooorah 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. The light will still be traveling at the speed of light. I know it sounds weird, but that's what "relativity" is all about. Relative to the place it left, it would be traveling at the speed of light.
Think of it this way, if a fly is in an airplane and flies from your seat to the seat in front of you, did it have to overcome the speed of the plane to move fast enough to gain that distance? No. It was already in sync with the speed of the plane and it accelerated about flyspeed forward. Same with the light from the Chevy.
2007-05-12 21:16:05 · answer #4 · answered by Robert L 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity
Relative velocity = w = (u + v)/(1 + uv/c2)
u - velocity of the car = c
v - velocity of light relative to the car = c
w - velocity of light (apparent velocity to a bystander)
= (c+c)/(1+c^2/c^2)
=c
While the light from the headlights would still travel at the speed of light relative to you, they would be travelling no faster than c to the bystander.
2007-05-13 06:39:26 · answer #5 · answered by gudspeling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, Because any object that is attached to, or in this case, being emitted from another object will have the same initial speed as that object, plus whatever speed with which it can propel itself.
So basically, the light from the headlights should travel twice the speed of sound.
For example, If you are in a plane traveling 500 mph, and you throw a ball up in the air, it will not whiz to the back of the plane, it will come back down into your hand because you, the ball, and the plane are all traveling at the same speed.
2007-05-12 21:10:12 · answer #6 · answered by T F 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
That's a good question, but i don't believe so, its basically like if you are traveling at Mach I (speed of sound) and you turned on your boombox, would it go faster than the speed of sound.
the real question would be, if you were traveling at the speed of light would you even be able to turn on your headlights?
2007-05-12 21:09:55 · answer #7 · answered by pieguy1530 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, the light would travel at the speed of light. The speed of light cannot be exceeded even by light. But you wouldn't notice anyway, because time would have stopped for you.
2007-05-12 21:21:00 · answer #8 · answered by johnnizanni 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no. the speed of light is like a cosmic speed limit .it would make no difference to make the head lights go faster. it is always moving at 3*10^8 m\s
2007-05-12 23:05:01 · answer #9 · answered by Dr. Eddie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the theory of relativity Einstein said that the physical phenomena are equal for any observer (although it travels at the speed of the light)
2007-05-12 21:15:52 · answer #10 · answered by Bernar 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋