assuming you are pointing your flashlight in the direction you're moving towards
2007-08-24 21:43:12 · 7 answers · asked by mw 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
you can't travel at the speed of light. imagining a ship travelling at 100% of the speed of light is silly because it would have infinite mass and be the center of a black hole.
But if your ship is doing, say, 99.99% of light speed, your flashlight would work fine. Special Relativity dictates that the speed of light is the same for all observers. so you could see what was ahead of you.
2007-08-24 21:54:30 · answer #1 · answered by modax42 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
travel at the speed of light is impossible for things that have a rest mass greater than zero but let us assume you can. First you should think about einstein and length contraction. everything would be length contracted to 0 so there is norhing in front or you (or behind you for that matter). Time also stops. Take light, it can travel across the universe and no time has passed for it.
But back to you. If you are going near the speed of light there are other interesting optical effects that take place. For one thing the light coming at you is blue shifted so far that you might be getting quite large doses of lethal radiation (all light coming at you would be shifted, behind you into the red, ahead of you into the red). Another more interesting aspect has to do with what is called aberration. Because of this things behind you will appear to be in front of you (except if something is directly behind you). Plus, although I have not read this, I believe their time would appear to be running backwards.
To directly answer your question. Distances in front of you have shrunk to zero so there is no direction in front of you. Also time has stopped.
See the source for a fast moving spaceship with movies, etc.
2007-08-25 06:50:51 · answer #2 · answered by Captain Mephisto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Now thats a REAL GOOD QUESTION !!
The answer for that question is just as tricky as the question itself.
Theoretically as far as you are concerned the torch would in fact show you the way forward!!
But to anyone else outside(that is not traveling at the velocity of light) the would'nt appear to illuminate the way ahead of you!!
This is where the concept of RELATIVITY comes in. Different observers would see different things depending on their velocities!!!
This is of course assuming that you can infact travel at the speed of light.........
2007-08-25 04:56:40 · answer #3 · answered by AJ R 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if you were travelling at the speed of light you wouldnt be able to see anything therefore even if it did show what was in front of you your eyes couldnt see it. does that make sense? !!!!!
2007-08-25 04:53:13 · answer #4 · answered by curiousdan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would not exist to be able to hold a flash light.
2007-08-28 17:27:46 · answer #5 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you switch on the flash light before you start then it will, but if you switch on while you are traveling I don’t think so.
2007-08-25 04:50:13 · answer #6 · answered by vbm 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont think it would
because the light would leave the torch but you would be moving as fast as it ???
hmm good question
2007-08-25 04:46:49 · answer #7 · answered by ♥jazzy♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋