The speed of sound and The speed of Light

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concepts of the speed of sound and the speed of light, particularly focusing on the implications of traveling faster than these speeds. It includes theoretical considerations, practical examples, and speculative reasoning regarding sensory perception at these speeds.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that traveling faster than the speed of sound results in not hearing anything from behind, while others clarify that sound can still be heard inside a plane traveling faster than sound due to the relative motion of air inside the plane.
  • One participant mentions that while it is theoretically interesting to consider traveling faster than light, it is deemed impossible, and thus speculating on the consequences is not meaningful.
  • Another participant discusses the effects of traveling close to the speed of light, suggesting that one would perceive objects behind and in front of them differently due to Doppler effects.
  • There is a distinction made between the experiences of sound and light, with some arguing that sound behaves differently in a moving vehicle compared to light, which cannot be outpaced.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of traveling faster than sound and light. While there is some agreement on the impossibility of exceeding the speed of light, the discussion remains unresolved regarding the theoretical implications and sensory experiences associated with such speeds.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the assumptions about the behavior of sound and light in different mediums and the unresolved nature of theoretical phenomena related to exceeding the speed of light.

timejim
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
If you travel faster than the spped of sound, then you do not hear anything. If you were to travel faster than the speed of light, then you would NOT see anything.?
 
Science news on Phys.org
Greetings !

Theoreticly - yes. However, it is impossible to travel
faster than the speed of light. Nevertheless, lots
of cool things happen as you get close to it - you
see the things behind you in a higher spectrum and
the things in front of you in a lower spectrum.

Live long and prosper.
 
If you are in a plane traveling faster than the speed of sound, you can still hear perfectly fine. And if the noise of the plane were not too loud, you'd be able to hear things outside the plane perfectly fine as well (just with a nice big doppler shift). You just wouldn't be able to hear anything behind you.
 
If you are in a plane traveling faster than sound, there are two things to consider.

1) The air inside the plane is moving along at the same speed as you, so sound travels normally in there in relation to you.

2) The plane is basically outpacing the propagation of sound through the air outside the plane.
 
Since it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, there is no meaning to try to hypothesize what is going to happen when you travel faster than light, so, no, there is not even a theoretical phenomena.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
6K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
6K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
2K