• Question: If you were in a car going at the speed of light, what would happen if you turned on the headlights? (Aah this is such a stupid question, sorry!)

    Asked by annaclare to Aled, Ellie, Fiona, Kev, Willem on 18 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Aled Roberts

      Aled Roberts answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Hi Annaclare!

      There are no stupid questions! But this question cannot be answered as there is no way of travelling at the speed of light! The fast we go the more we weigh and therefore the more energy we require to go faster! It is an endless cycle so can never go that fast! Not even on a diet!

      Hope that helps! 🙂 Don’t forget to vote

    • Photo: Willem Heijltjes

      Willem Heijltjes answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Hi Annaclare!

      The strange thing is, however fast you are going, light will always go at the same speed: 300,000 km/s. So even if you go *very* close to the speed of light, your headlights will still shine with the normal speed of light!

      Very weird things happen, near the speed of light! You become very heavy, and time goes really slowly. We don’t actually know how this would feel – we only know what the mathematics tells us! (This is why maths is fascinating: it tells us things we can’t begin to understand intuitively 🙂 )

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