What happens if you're traveling at the speed of light and you turn a flashlight on...?
This is the quintessential Relativity question, not really a mind blowing speed of light question. If you are witnessing the traveler zooming by you at the speed of light and they turn on their flashlight, the light does not escape the end flash light due the fact that nothing moves faster than the speed of light. Even a light of a flashlight that is turned on cannot go faster than the speed of light. It's the Law!
Here is the Relativity part. When the traveler himself, turns on the flashlight the light itself behaves just as it would normally. The light shines forward at the speed of light ahead of the vehicle. This occurs because the flashlight is stationary relative to the traveler. It is going zero miles per hour relative to the traveler. It's all relative. Different results but true to the laws of physics, Relative to the Observer. You cannot observe from outside of the vehicle and also observe from inside the vehicle at the same time so you see no paradox.
This is not how it appears. It is how it is. That is what Relativity is all about
Jeez, you've never watched Star Trek?? The light will behave relative to the vehicle, just like Bordz60 said. It's all theoretical, though. Nothing with mass can achieve the speed of light.
Then you'll not be able to see where you're going :-)
But what happens if you turn around and turn the flashlight on. Do you see in to the past?
by ahmed.b 11 years ago
If you're in a car which is on the speed of light, what happens when you turn on the headlights?
by Mikel G Roberts 12 years ago
If I was on a space ship traveling at the speed of light (The natural speed limit proposed by Einstein) and I fired a gun would the bullet remain in the gun?My belief is no it would not. I believe the bullet would leave the gun at the same increased velocity that it would achieve if I had fired the...
by deb douglas 14 years ago
It is proven that time stops when you are moving at the speed of light. Time as we know it on earth is a man made notion, for it is really a measurement of distance - a revolution around once. Therefore it would be relative to where you were and how fast you are moving and not at all a...
by Mikel G Roberts 10 years ago
Does light have a terminal velocity? Is lights terminal velocity "the speed of light"?If we held a race between two beams of light, one beam being on a moving object and one from a stationary object, would the beam of light from the moving object arrive first at the finish line?
by Andrew Petrou 8 years ago
How can the speed of light be theoretically squared in Einsteins equation ?Yes we all know C squared gives a new number in Einstein's equation. But squaring the speed of light even theoretically is theoretically impossible.
by Irfan 11 years ago
Aircrafts have past the speed of sound ... do you think they will ever break the speed of light?Do you think the light barrier can be broken? ... I think it can.
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