The discussion revolves around the hypothetical scenario of observing a light beam while traveling towards it at 0.999c, focusing on the implications of the Doppler effect and relativistic physics. Participants explore the visibility of the light beam and the resulting color shift, if any, under these extreme conditions.
Participants generally disagree on whether it is possible to observe the light beam at all, with some asserting that it cannot be seen while others explore the implications of the Doppler effect if it were possible.
There are unresolved assumptions regarding the nature of light and observation at relativistic speeds, particularly concerning the limits of visibility and the application of the Doppler effect in this scenario.
The doppler shift equation is based partly on the time dilation of the source in your frame--in other words, if a source is emitting wave peaks at a frequency of 5*10^14 per second (visible light) in its own rest frame, then because of time dilation, when it's moving with respect to you it will emit less peaks per second in your frame. In the limit as the velocity of a clock in your frame approaches c, the time between ticks of the clock approaches infinity, no matter how long between ticks in the clock's own frame...so analogously, in the limit as a source's velocity relative to you approaches c, the time between peaks of any signal it emits in your direction approaches infinity too. So I think the answer you're looking for is that the light from a source moving at c would be infinitely redshifted, even though that only makes sense as a statement about limits since a massive light-emitting source cannot actually move at c.Quantum1332 said:if it were possible to see it?
Quantum1332 said:if it were possible to see it?