The speed of light is a fundamentally unchanging thing. It is the same for all observers, in all directions, no matter how fast the source is moving, or how fast the observer is moving. |
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This thread is for any questions you may have about physics, not saying that ill answer them, I'm sure someone else will. Here are a few of mine. |
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R.I.P. Carl.
The speed of light is a fundamentally unchanging thing. It is the same for all observers, in all directions, no matter how fast the source is moving, or how fast the observer is moving. |
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Last edited by Xei; 06-02-2011 at 03:20 AM.
You've taken classes on this haven't you, your knowledge is impressive, all i know came from Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" Thank you for answering my question. |
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R.I.P. Carl.
This is because time slows down and length contracts more for the light beam that passed you on the right relative to the light beam your currently passing and so partly traveling with, right? |
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I can answer the cars question, albeit I'm not sure how well I'll be able to explain it. Here goes my ridiculously mathy explanation... Someone care to explain the actual physics of it? |
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We all live in a kind of continuous dream. When we wake, it is because something,
some event, some pinprick even, disturbs the edges of what we have taken as reality.
Vandermeer
SAT (Sporadic Awareness Technique) Guide
Have questions about lucid dreaming? DM me.
The car situation can be described with vectors like Puffin said. Basically if your sitting still relative to the ground you only see the other cars velocity relative to the ground. If your moving relative to the ground too at a certain velocity, then you can think of yourself as stationary and the ground as moving passed you at that velocity. Add the velocity the other car is moving relative to the ground plus the velocity the ground is moving relative to you and you get the velocity you see the other car moving relative to you. |
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It's interesting that both questions are about "addition of velocities". In the classical regime, the formula is simple and you applied it to light and saw that it breaks down. The formula is simple. If an observer is moving with velocity v with respect to us and observes a particle moving with velocity u then we will see the particle moving with speed u + v. As you noted, this allows observers to measure light moving at any speed we desire. We know from electrodynamics that this is not possible. It is always measured moving at the same speed (in vacuum of course). This is the heart of the conflict between Newtonian mechanics and electrodynamics that Einstein resolved. |
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Previously PhilosopherStoned
I came. The vid is hella cool, add it to sexy science. |
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