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If youre in a vehicle going the speed of light what happens when you turn on the headlights?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Technically, this question is flawed, since one of the most important rules in physics is that no matter that has mass can travel at or above the speed of light (this is why scientists argue that traveling back in time is impossible) you would need extreme force and very special circumstances.
However, for hypothetical purposes, lets say that you are able to reach the speed of light. When you turn on your headlights, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. You will merely see the light speed away from you at the speed of light. It would be the same as if you were standing still in your car and turned on the headlights.
This is one of the must incredible things about the speed of light (c) - it is constant for everybody. Even if you were an onlooker and you somehow saw the car go by, it wouldn't happen at twice the speed of light, it would still happen at regular (c). Going further, since the speed of the light viewed doesn't change, then what does? The time. If you are able to go near the speed of light (like .9999 times), time would go more slowly for you (compared to normal, but you wouldn't notice anything. If you look at the outside world, time would appear to be traveling faster. For example, going .9999 times the speed of light, traveling for one year would actually be 70 years for anyone else. If you were able to reach the speed of light, you will have esentially stopped time, and if you were able to go faster than the speed of light, there would be an inertial frame of reference in which you would be travelling back in time. This is actually a very touchy subject, i highly recommend reading more about it. There are some very interesting videos and books by Stephen Hawking on YouTube that you can watch, both about light, relativity, time travel, all of that.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago1) The light could simply appear as if it was not on since it would not be going fast enough to reach the road ahead or you.
2) we can not go the speed of light so this question is irrelevent.
or 3) The light would travel double light speed due to the car pushing it at light speed and its regular speed combining.
You chose which one seems most appropriate.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe question is theoretically impossible and thus has no theoretical answer. Nothing with mass can go the speed of light.
But if you were going at 99% of the speed of light, the light from your headlights would move away from you as fast as it does when you're standing still. The speed of light is constant for both stationary and moving objects, so no matter how fast you're going, it moves away from you at 100% the speed of light.
To the driver, it may seem like the light is going faster than normal, but not if you see it from the perspective of a stationary observer. To him, the light is moving at the exact same speed, and the beam is accelerating away from the car at 1%.
So how can one lightbeam travel the same speed for both a person standing still and a person going at 99% the speed of light? The variable that changes is time. If they could have a real-time vision of each other, the driver would see the observer grow old in the blink of an eye, but to the observer, the driver would look completely frozen in time.
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