1) There is no stationary object in the universe. Everything's position and speed are defined merely in terms relative to everything else.
2) The speed of light is the maximum speed that anything can move at.
3) Light moves at the speed of light, unless objects or their gravity interfere.
Okay. So if I'm out in space, and point two flashlights in opposite directions, how quickly does the light move? Does each beam move at the speed of light? If so, then aren't they moving away from each other at greater than the speed of light? What am I not understanding here?
A Question About The Speed Of Light
A Question About The Speed Of Light
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Xamonas Chegwé
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Velocity is not additive. The photons from each flashlight are traveling away from you at c but also from each other at c!
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
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Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
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Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
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Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
What? If they're moving in opposite directions, then it's impossible for them not to be moving away from each other at a faster rate relative to each other than relative to me.
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Only from a humancentric POV. When you factor in relativity, velocity affects time and things get complicated!Drewish wrote:What? If they're moving in opposite directions, then it's impossible for them not to be moving away from each other at a faster rate relative to each other than relative to me.
Like I said, velocity is not additive. It appears so at slow speeds relative to c - but is skewed by the Lorentz factor as you get faster.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
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Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
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Twoflower
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Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
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Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
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Twoflower
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FBM
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Fuck. That never occurred to me before.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Xamonas Chegwé
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Put another way: Relative to a photon, time is standing still - ALWAYS! And space is compressed in the direction of its travel, infinitely - so it travels no distance in no time at all! Until it interracts with other shit, then it all gets fucking real WITH A BULLET!FBM wrote:Fuck. That never occurred to me before.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
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Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
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FBM
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Put another way: Relative to a photon, time is standing still - ALWAYS! And space is compressed in the direction of its travel, infinitely - so it travels no distance in no time at all! Until it interracts with other shit, then it all gets fucking real WITH A BULLET!FBM wrote:Fuck. That never occurred to me before.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Okay, so then what about physical objects? They can't go faster than half the speed of light, right? Because of two spaceships went faster than half the speed of light away form each other in opposite directions then they would be going faster than the speed of light away form one another... right?
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Xamonas Chegwé
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
So...FBM wrote:Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Put another way: Relative to a photon, time is standing still - ALWAYS! And space is compressed in the direction of its travel, infinitely - so it travels no distance in no time at all! Until it interracts with other shit, then it all gets fucking real WITH A BULLET!FBM wrote:Fuck. That never occurred to me before.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
To all of the photons in that Cosmic Microwave Background, no time has passed since the big bang - not a microsecond! And they are still right where they started from - in a completely 2-dimensional universe (sort of like a Michael Bay film).
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
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Xamonas Chegwé
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Wrong. Anything traveling at 0.5c would experience the universe outside slowing down by a factor of ~0.87 - so the other spaceship would appear to be traveling at 0.87c relative to it.Drewish wrote:Okay, so then what about physical objects? They can't go faster than half the speed of light, right? Because of two spaceships went faster than half the speed of light away form each other in opposite directions then they would be going faster than the speed of light away form one another... right?
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
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Xamonas Chegwé
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Scratch that, the other ship WOULD be traveling at 0.87c - it would not merely appear to be.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Wrong. Anything traveling at 0.5c would experience the universe outside slowing down by a factor of ~0.87 - so the other spaceship would appear to be traveling at 0.87c relative to it.Drewish wrote:Okay, so then what about physical objects? They can't go faster than half the speed of light, right? Because of two spaceships went faster than half the speed of light away form each other in opposite directions then they would be going faster than the speed of light away form one another... right?
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
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FBM
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Well, shit me. I'm going to be worthless for the rest of the day, thanks to you.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:So...FBM wrote:Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Put another way: Relative to a photon, time is standing still - ALWAYS! And space is compressed in the direction of its travel, infinitely - so it travels no distance in no time at all! Until it interracts with other shit, then it all gets fucking real WITH A BULLET!FBM wrote:Fuck. That never occurred to me before.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Relative to a photon, EVERYTHING is stationary, including other photons.
To all of the photons in that Cosmic Microwave Background, no time has passed since the big bang - not a microsecond! And they are still right where they started from - in a completely 2-dimensional universe (sort of like a Michael Bay film).
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
The the distortion of time is logarithmic to speed?Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Scratch that, the other ship WOULD be traveling at 0.87c - it would not merely appear to be.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Wrong. Anything traveling at 0.5c would experience the universe outside slowing down by a factor of ~0.87 - so the other spaceship would appear to be traveling at 0.87c relative to it.Drewish wrote:Okay, so then what about physical objects? They can't go faster than half the speed of light, right? Because of two spaceships went faster than half the speed of light away form each other in opposite directions then they would be going faster than the speed of light away form one another... right?
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Re: A Question About The Speed Of Light
Not exactly. It is adjusted by the Lorentz Factor.Drewish wrote:The the distortion of time is logarithmic to speed?Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Scratch that, the other ship WOULD be traveling at 0.87c - it would not merely appear to be.Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Wrong. Anything traveling at 0.5c would experience the universe outside slowing down by a factor of ~0.87 - so the other spaceship would appear to be traveling at 0.87c relative to it.Drewish wrote:Okay, so then what about physical objects? They can't go faster than half the speed of light, right? Because of two spaceships went faster than half the speed of light away form each other in opposite directions then they would be going faster than the speed of light away form one another... right?
1/√(1 - v2/c2)) where v is the relative velocity of one object relative to another and c is the speed of light. When v is small relative to c, the difference made is negligible. Get anywhere close to c though and things get weird very quickly!
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur
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