| From: V_MAN | 22/02/99
21:11:13 |
| Subject: Speed King | post id:
1892 |
| Hello all I had a read of some of
the light speed topics.But did'nt see anything that would help me with this! I'm in a car in a tunnel travelling @ light speed! Your @ the other end.I put on my high beam,what happens?What do i see? What do you see? | |
| From: Rhys | 22/02/99
21:13:04 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1894 |
| In a car in a tunnel at light
speed? Well, you might see Dodi... | |
| From: Dr. Ed G (Avatar) | 23/02/99
11:04:20 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1910 |
| I'm in a car in a
tunnel travelling @ light speed! Your @ the other end.I put on my high
beam,what happens?What do i see? What do you see? Neither of us will see anything particularly unusual, because you won't be travelling at light speed. As it's a mythical situation you can choose anything you want to happen, anything your imagination can think of, and it won't make a jot of difference because setting the situation up in the first place (i.e. travelling at light speed) can never happen. Sorry. Soupie twist, Ed G. | |
| From: Rhys | 23/02/99
11:10:15 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1911 |
| not that I'd be one to dispute
good old Einstein.. but what moves the theory of relativity from theory
into fact. Has it been conclusivly proved that matter can't travel at the speed of light? Or is there still room for debate? | |
| From: Dr. Ed G (Avatar) | 23/02/99
11:30:17 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1915 |
| Has it been
conclusivly proved that matter can't travel at the speed of light? Or is
there still room for debate? The experimental results of special relativity are observed over and over and over and over and over again, every day, all over the world - it's a really, really robust theory. Sure nothing is absolute fact (there, Chris, I said it :-)... but that doesn't mean that everything is completely open to conjecture. At the moment there is no substantial or convincing evidence to suggest that special relativity is RIGHT ON THE MARK! There are scientists (a very very small number) who dispute special relativity on aesthetic grounds, but there is no experiment that calls it into question with respect to the inability for mass to reach the speed of light. Until either someone formulates a simpler theory (unlikely!) that is identical to Special Relativity in every respect that we can currently confirm experimentally and which behaves differently VERY VERY close to the speed of light, OR experiment evidence shows Special Relativity to be inadequate in some way, there is not a lot of room to argue. Certainly, it is pointless considering the theoretical implications of phenomena that the theory says can't happen. It's like asking, "What happens when irresistable force is applied to an immovable object?" It's a null and void question since by definition the two things cannot exist in the same Universe. Soupie twist, Ed G. | |
| From: Cass | 23/02/99
12:55:23 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1931 |
| V_Man said: I'm in a
car in a tunnel travelling @ light speed! Your @ the other end.I put on my
high beam,what happens?What do i see? What do you see? What I see is some annoying shmo with his highbeams on. What you see is me flashing my lights at you to tell you to turn your highbeam off. Even at the speed of light, manners still apply. | |
| From: James Richmond (Avatar) | 23/02/99
19:30:03 |
| Subject: re: Speed King | post id:
1978 |
| Although you can't travel at the
speed of light, let's assume you get very very VERY close to it. The
limiting behaviour of the equations of special relativity then
predict: 1. You will be very heavy, as seen by the other car. 2. The other car will be practically on top of you, since outside distances will have shrunk to almost nothing from your point of view. 3. Any action you observe in the other car will take place at an extremely boring pace, due to extreme time dilation. 4. Your headlight beam will shine ahead of you at the speed of light, same as if your car was stationary. 5. You will have a nasty crash in the next couple of nanoseconds. | |