If I'm driving in a car travelling the speed of light and I flip the headlights on, what happens?

Similar questions: driving car travelling speed light flip headlights.

Illumination works as always - you will start slowing down. Speed of light is constant no matter how fast you're travelling. Your headlights will work as always: illumniate the objects ahead of you.

However, since you're now emmiting the light, that is, light particles, in the opposite direction from where you're traveling to, you've now effectively started slowing down - it's as if you've applied your car brakes. It may take you a very, very long time to start (depends on your mass and intensity of the light). Sources: E=mc^2 .

Dark I believe that since you are travelling at the speed of light you would not be able to see th light of your headlight and hence would see complete darkness. So please drive a few miles slower than the speed of light and don't forget to wear your seat belt :-) .

I tried this once... But, since I believe, much like Plato, that we observe life as a shadow cast on the wall of a cave, and I was travelling at the speed of light at the time, I was unable to observe the shadow, and thus can't answer your question. Sorry.

1 Depends on if you view light as a wave or as particles. Just below the speed of light:Light going forwards would have to slow down, therby redshifting and it would be visible for a short distance in front of the car. Light coming from the rear of the bulb would redshift the other direction and very quickly reach the rear reflector and try coming forwards at nearly 2x the speed of light.

I think that more than usual amounts would be absorbed as energy and the rest would then be redshifted and go in front of the car. The red shfits would be great enough that you wouldn't have any visible light from the headlight. Right at the speed of light:The particles emmitted forwards would be slowed down to the speed of light and travel with the lightbulb.

Particles emmitted backwards would be emmitted with no real speed (just relative speed to the lightbulb. ) They'd hit the rear reflector and be pushed forward at the speed of light and would be all confused and probably absorbed as energy. If they weren't absorbed they'd build up behind the lightbulb and eventually be forced into energy.

Once you are going faster than the speed of light (by any amount no matter how small), the light would all end up at the back of the bulb by the reflector with various amounts of redshift. The photons would just accumulate and would end up being forced to be absorbed by the surfaces of the bulb and headlight and would cause large amount of heat. If you look at light as a wave, you'd get the sonic boom effect like you do with sound.

Which would probably look like a big burst of radiation to an outside observer. There probably wouldn't be much visible light however. Either way the person in the car wouldn't get any benefit from turning on the headlights and observers would either not see anything or maybe just a small flash of light.

Depends on if you view light as a wave or as particles. Just below the speed of light:Light going forwards would have to slow down, therby redshifting and it would be visible for a short distance in front of the car. Light coming from the rear of the bulb would redshift the other direction and very quickly reach the rear reflector and try coming forwards at nearly 2x the speed of light.

I think that more than usual amounts would be absorbed as energy and the rest would then be redshifted and go in front of the car. The red shfits would be great enough that you wouldn't have any visible light from the headlight. Right at the speed of light:The particles emmitted forwards would be slowed down to the speed of light and travel with the lightbulb.

Particles emmitted backwards would be emmitted with no real speed (just relative speed to the lightbulb. ) They'd hit the rear reflector and be pushed forward at the speed of light and would be all confused and probably absorbed as energy. If they weren't absorbed they'd build up behind the lightbulb and eventually be forced into energy.

Once you are going faster than the speed of light (by any amount no matter how small), the light would all end up at the back of the bulb by the reflector with various amounts of redshift. The photons would just accumulate and would end up being forced to be absorbed by the surfaces of the bulb and headlight and would cause large amount of heat. If you look at light as a wave, you'd get the sonic boom effect like you do with sound.

Which would probably look like a big burst of radiation to an outside observer. There probably wouldn't be much visible light however. Either way the person in the car wouldn't get any benefit from turning on the headlights and observers would either not see anything or maybe just a small flash of light.

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I would like to know how to clean the headlights on the car when they get foggie.

Travelling faster than the speed of light, could we possibly look back (view) history as we catch/pass reflected light.

I have Nav. And need to mount it while driving.

Car is driving fine, but at times seems that stols almost if driving to bumps, the engine light went on. What do you thi.

I have a question about car headlights........

Okay, Steven Wright question: If you were traveling in your car at the speed of light, and you turned your headlights on.

What can make my car creak when driving, steering, over potholes/ speedhumps at any speed.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.