Seeing the Unseen: Can You View Objects at Light Speed?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the theoretical implications of traveling at or above the speed of light, particularly focusing on whether one could see objects while moving at such speeds. Participants explore concepts related to special relativity and the nature of light perception in extreme conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether they would be able to see anything if traveling at or above the speed of light, suggesting that light from objects would not be able to catch up.
  • Another participant asserts that traveling faster than light is not possible and humorously speculates about the consequences of such an event, indicating a lack of serious discussion on speculative ideas.
  • A different participant acknowledges the speculative nature of the question but suggests modifying it to consider approaching the speed of light, which leads to a discussion about the effects of special relativity on perception of the environment.
  • Further elaboration includes how, at relativistic speeds, the environment would appear contracted along the direction of travel, with light from objects ahead appearing blue-shifted and light from objects behind appearing red-shifted.
  • There is also curiosity about how a massless photon perceives its environment, with uncertainty expressed about the existence of a meaningful answer to that question.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the original question is speculative and not grounded in established physics. However, there is no consensus on the implications of approaching the speed of light, as different viewpoints are presented regarding perception and the nature of light.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes speculative elements that challenge the laws of physics, and participants express uncertainty about the implications of such thought experiments. There are references to special relativity that may require further exploration for clarity.

Paradox?
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ok first, as this is my first post i have to say I am a little intimidated by the scientific detail of
most posts on this site as I am a laymen, no academic background, just very interested in science :) also as I've only just discovered this site I am very hard pressed to scroll all topics and answers so there is a possibility this has been asked/discussed before so please delete
if the case.

anyway my question is this:

if i am traveling at or over the speed of light (i know, theorticaly impossible, can of worms anyone?) and i look backwards, will i be able to see anything?

i figure no, because the light from all objects would not be able to catch up with me so i could not see anything.
 
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You can't travel faster than light so there isn't much to say about it.

I mean, you would be like going backwards in time with some kind of negative of super infinite energy and the universe would just explode or something heh.

A warning however, ideas that are speculative are not supposed to be discusses on these forums! (this keeps things on topic and relevant)
 
ok my bad i guess it was a kind of speculative question and appreciate it has no place here (though in my defence i have seen worse in my recent browsing)
 
Firstly welcome to the forums!
Paradox? said:
if i am traveling at or over the speed of light
The problem with thought experiments like this is you are basically saying "if the laws of physics didn't apply what would the laws of physics say about that?"
Paradox? said:
ok my bad i guess it was a kind of speculative question and appreciate it has no place here (though in my defence i have seen worse in my recent browsing)
If you see a post that you think violates the PF Rules please report them :smile: also if you haven't already it would be best to familiarise yourself with them too.
 
I think it is a good question, with a little modification. If, say, you have mass and you approach the speed of light (but never quite get there), it would be appropriate to ask what would your environment look like? The answer to that lies in the topic of special relativity, which you can look up on wikipedia and youtube. You might also ask how does a photon, which is massless and does travel at the speed of light, perceive its environment? I do not know if there is a meaningful answer to that, or where to find it if there is one.
 
Mr_Physicist said:
I think it is a good question, with a little modification. If, say, you have mass and you approach the speed of light (but never quite get there), it would be appropriate to ask what would your environment look like? The answer to that lies in the topic of special relativity, which you can look up on wikipedia and youtube.
If everything in your environment i.e. everything on your spaceship is at rest relative to you it looks normal. Looking outside your ship the universe seems contracted along your axis, looking ahead of you everything looks slightly blue and everything behind you looks slightly red.
Mr_Physicist said:
You might also ask how does a photon, which is massless and does travel at the speed of light, perceive its environment? I do not know if there is a meaningful answer to that, or where to find it if there is one.
See: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=511170
 

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