Okay sorry if the question was confusing but I had limited space. ill rephrase the question: If a car had its headlights on and was on the freeway moving, and nothing cant go faster than light, Isnt the speed of the cars getting added to the speed of light? So doesnt that mean that The light on the head light is moving faster than the speed of light? Anyone care to explain? (sorry if I put this one in the wrong catagory! I really didnt know)
2007-07-17 05:12:26 · 13 answers · asked by nanomot 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
No. The speed of light is absolute--you can't add to it or take away from it. The light coming out of your headlights isn't moving at the speed of light relative to your car, it's moving at the speed of light relative to where your car was when the headlights produced the light energy. Thus, the light is moving relative to a fixed point, and there is no velocity to add to it.
This would be easier to explain if you were moving at the speed of light. The headlights would still be producing light, but it would not be moving ahead of you. Imagine throwing a ball, then running after it at the same speed it itself is moving. The ball would stay in the same position relative to you; the fact that that you're running after it doesn't make the ball go faster.
2007-07-20 08:24:11 · answer #1 · answered by The Electro Ferret 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you stand still and listen to a car pass. As it approaches, the sound it makes seems perceptibly higher in pitch Once it passes and is traveling away from you, the sound is perceptibly lower in pitch. This is called the Doppler Effect.
If you were moving away from the car faster than the speed of sound, you would not hear the car.
Similarly, if you are in front of a light, and moving faster than the speed of light... not an easy thing to do... the light will not reach you.
If you are stationary, or moving slower than the speed of light, the light from the object coming towards you will do a "violet shift." That is, the waves will be compressed in the direction of travel, just like sound, causing the light to shift towards the violet end of the spectrum.
If you are stationary, or the light is moving away from you at less than the speed of light, the light will do a "red shift". That is, the light waves will expand in the direction of travel, just like sound, causing the light to shift towards the red end of the spectrum.
However, light travels at a little over 186,000 miles a second. Most objects in motion travel at a much lower speed. So the shift, either way, can usually be detected only with special equipment. But that shift is what allows astronomers determine the speed of stars.
2007-07-17 05:32:00 · answer #2 · answered by gugliamo00 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It doesn't add, but the speeds to a stationary observer and the passengers of the car could be considered "different". To a stationary observer, the light from the cars is moving at c. To the passengers, the light is moving at c. But wait a minute, how can a stationary observer and a moving observer observe 1 thing travelling at the same speed relative to 2 different speeds?! Well, this is relativity and it has been proven experimentally. See the above Wiki article on time dilation for more info.
2007-07-17 05:30:14 · answer #3 · answered by Pfo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
According to modern Physics, Nothing can excede the speed of light... Nothing! Not even light. If you were to travel close to the speed of light and then shine a light in a single direction, The speed of that light realative to a motionless person would still only be the speed of light. It is just a the way the universe works.
2007-07-17 05:19:00 · answer #4 · answered by apostlepaul 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, speeds don't add in the simple way you want them to. Sure, for very small velocities, they add together normally, but as speeds approach that of light, they do not. Speeds add according to Vtot/c = (v1/c + v2/c) / (1+v1*v2/c^2)
And the speed of light is the same to all observers. If you were travelling at 99.99999% the speed of light relative to the ground and turned on your headlights, you would not see chunks. You would see the light traveling from your headlights at c. Light always travels at c no matter who is observing it. That is the whole point.
2007-07-17 05:22:58 · answer #5 · answered by ZikZak 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
with the vrod and other developments harley is about to not need the baby boomers or the clubbers .. As i see it they cater to the rich bunch and sell sell sell bikes to people that 30 years ago would not have been caught dead on a motorcycle ..So once again harley marketing dept is way ahead of the buying public ..Personally i have old bikes that i have had for years and as far as the harley dealerships here in Kansas City are concerned i need to leave them alone and buy aftermarket parts from somebody else .. Seriously if you don't at least have a 08 softail they don't care if you come in or not ....That tells a lot about which group they are trying to sell to .... Long as they have the image the older guys built for them they will sell bikes even though they are well on the road to becoming a assembly company .. bikes are made outta parts from all over the world ..Right now if i was to purchase a new cruiser big twin it would be a polaris victory =less than 2% of it is made overseas
2016-04-01 08:42:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. speeds don't add up. It's like you're running at 2 mph and you're pushing a car going 40 mph. The cars speed isn't 42 mph. It's still 40 mph and moving away from you. The other way around. You're running at 2 mph and being pushed by a car moving 40mph. You aren't suddenly running at 42 mph. You're being pushed back to the car and the car is moving 40 mph.
2007-07-18 16:31:41 · answer #7 · answered by S N 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You (in the car) would measure the light speed at 186,000 miles per second. Somebody else on the ground would measure the same light at 186,000 miles per second. People in cars heading TOWARD you would measure the light at 186,000 miles per second.
Everybody measures the same speed! It's a physical fact, not just a theory. It's been measured in various ways, since 1871. Albert Einstein put together a theory that include this fact. He didn't "explain" it, he just accepted it, and showed what the consequences were.
2007-07-17 05:28:55 · answer #8 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you were standing on the road and measured the speed of light from all the headlights, they would all travel the same speed; the speed of light.
2007-07-17 05:39:18 · answer #9 · answered by Gene 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No.
The second answer is correct. The speed of light is constant.
It's very confusing, but basically what happens is that time slows down when you are moving. The faster you go, the slower time gets.
See the Wikipedia article on time dialtion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation
2007-07-17 05:23:45 · answer #10 · answered by aarknader 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋