Can you see inside a space ship moving at the speed of light?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the hypothetical scenario of being inside a spaceship moving at the speed of light and the implications for visibility and perception of light within the ship. Participants explore concepts related to relativity, the nature of light, and the physical laws governing motion at relativistic speeds.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that if they were in a spaceship moving at the speed of light, they would see darkness behind them and constant light in front of them, questioning the behavior of light in such a scenario.
  • Another participant argues that the premise of moving at the speed of light is fundamentally flawed, comparing it to a nonsensical mathematical scenario, and states that the results derived from such a premise are invalid.
  • A different participant emphasizes that a spaceship cannot move at the speed of light and questions the validity of asking what would happen if the laws of physics were violated.
  • One participant claims that if one were moving at the speed of light, they would not see anything at all because time would stop for them.
  • Another participant discusses the relativity of speed, stating that if the spaceship were moving at any speed less than the speed of light, the observer would not perceive any difference.
  • A later reply challenges the assertion that time would stop at the speed of light, suggesting that even at speeds very close to the speed of light, one does not experience significant time dilation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express disagreement regarding the feasibility of moving at the speed of light and the implications of such a scenario. There is no consensus on the visibility of light or the experience of time at such speeds, with multiple competing views presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants rely on various interpretations of relativity and the behavior of light, with some assumptions about the nature of speed and perception remaining unresolved. The discussion highlights the complexities and contradictions inherent in the hypothetical scenario.

adimantium
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Lets pretend I am in a spaceship and I am moving at the speed of light. There is a light bulb at the center of the ship. I understand that velocities don't simply add together, and the formula is v[itex]_{3}[/itex]=[itex]\frac{v_{1}+v_{2}}{1+\frac{v_{1}v_{2}}{c_{2}}}[/itex]. So the light would not be moving in your frame of reference. So if you look behind you, you would see darkness. But if you look in front of you, you could not see the light reflect off of the front walls of the ship, but couldn't you see the light that started in front of you? because that light would simply go toward you. I think if you looked behind you, you would see darkness. If you looked in front of you, you would see constant light. What do you think?
 
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adimantium said:
Lets pretend I am in a spaceship and I am moving at the speed of light...

That's like saying "Let's pretend that there is an odd number that can be evenly divided by two..."; you'll be able to derive all sorts of strange and wonderful results, but they'll all be bogus because the premise itself is bogus.

In particular, the addition of velocity formula you're trying to use is derived from assumptions that are inconsistent with any observer moving at the speed of light, so if you try using it in your "let's pretend" scenario, the results of the calculation will be bogus.
 
Last edited:
adimantium said:
Lets pretend I am in a spaceship and I am moving at the speed of light.
A spaceship cannot move at the speed of light. You essentially are asking "what do the laws of physics say will happen if we violate the laws of physics?"

It's a nonsense question.
 
As I understand it, if you were moving at the speed of light you would not see anything at all because time would literally stop for you.
 
The whole point of "relativity" is that speed is always relative to some other reference. If you were in a spaceship moving, relative to me, at any speed less than the speed of light, you would see nothing at all different. Relative to the spaceship you are motionless.
 
taicleis said:
As I understand it, if you were moving at the speed of light you would not see anything at all because time would literally stop for you.

Not only is that not right, but it's also not the result that you get if you try setting your speed equal to the speed of light in the various equations of relativity.

One way of seeing this: Right now you are moving at 99.99999999% of the speed of light relative to some observer somewhere in the universe. Are you experiencing even the least little bit of "time slowing down"?
 

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