What happens when....
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ooohhhh....go on.....
Would fall out the other side?
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Just stuck on center like a magnet.
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You're saying that when you jump in you stop at the centre and don't exit the other side?
If so incorrect
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Ignoring the actually insurmountable issues of heat/pressure/radiation/forces etc...
And assuming that both ends of the hole are the same distance [to within a few meters] from the center of gravity of the earth...
If you did jump in you would fall, fall, fall... accelerating 'down' towards the center under the force of gravity [assuming 'air-resistance' you'd reach a terminal velocity - like a sky-diver], then you'd pass through the very center, and because of your momentum you would continue 'up' towards the other end of the hole... However, because you are now going against the force of gravity you'd decelerate, but you'd almost reach the other end before you slowed to a dead-stop and then started falling back towards the center again. Because your second 'start' is nearer the center then your momentum will be slightly less, as you again pass through the center and approach the other end... this time your trajectory is reversed a little nearer to the center... This cycle repeats with you falling back and forth, but getting progressively nearer the center with each reversal of trajectory. Eventually the reversals will become so frequent that you will effectively be oscillating around the center by an insignificant amount; theoretically after long enough had elapsed you might become stationary at the center, but in practice there are so many variable factors I suspect that you would never quite 'stop'...
Note: if you were agile enough... on the first 'fall', just as you approached the other end and slowed to a standstill you could 'grapple' onto the tunnel's wall just below the rim, so with a little climbing 'up' you could pop out at the other end... but I suspect you'd be a bit knackered by then [if not dead] !!!
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I can't prove it as I'm not physician, but if it is the center that attracts you if you pass beyond due to acceleration, you should be attract back?
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@unknownuser said:
by TIG on Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:54 pm
Ignoring the actually insurmountable issues of heat/pressure/radiation/forces etc...
And assuming that both ends of the hole are the same distance [to within a few meters] from the center of gravity of the earth...
If you did jump in you would fall, fall, fall... accelerating 'down' towards the center under the force of gravity [assuming 'air-resistance' you'd reach a terminal velocity - like a sky-diver], then you'd pass through the very center, and because of your momentum you would continue 'up' towards the other end of the hole... However, because you are now going against the force of gravity you'd decelerate, but you'd almost reach the other end before you slowed to a dead-stop and then started falling back towards the center again. Because your second 'start' is nearer the center then your momentum will be slightly less, as you again pass through the center and approach the other end... this time your trajectory is reversed a little nearer to the center... This cycle repeats with you falling back and forth, but getting progressively nearer the center with each reversal of trajectory. Eventually the reversals will become so frequent that you will effectively be oscillating around the center by an insignificant amount; theoretically after long enough had elapsed you might become stationary at the center, but in practice there are so many variable factors I suspect that you would never quite 'stop'...
Note: if you were agile enough... on the first 'fall', just as you approached the other end and slowed to a standstill you could 'grapple' onto the tunnel's wall just below the rim, so with a little climbing 'up' you could pop out at the other end... but I suspect you'd be a bit knackered by then [if not dead] !!!Better said that I could, english isn't my native language
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Rich are you still here?
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Go on
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If a vehicle is travelling faster than the speed of light what happens when it turns it's headlights on?
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The speeds are added.
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So if you were travelling next to the vehicle at the same speed would you see the light on of off?
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They are on.
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Question clarification.
Is that 'faster than the speed of light', 'at the speed of light' or 'approaching the speed of light' ?
Also is the vehicle traveling in a vacuum or in another medium where the speed of light might be lowered from 'C' ?
Also are we to postulate 'what happens' from the point of view of the car-driver/passenger or for a bystander watching the car pass by ?? -
@unknownuser said:
If a vehicle is travelling faster than the speed of light what happens when it turns it's headlights on?
@gilles said:
The speeds are added.
Wrong. Those speeds cannot be added.
From a more "realistic" example: when those jets pass the speed of sound, they literally "pas" it (overtake in British English) and "before" them, they do not have sound.
Back to the original post: it was obvious that the solution would be what TIG answered - you cannot deny that my answer was also entertaining though.
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So the speed of light doubles?
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If you were observing the car from a distance, you might see that the lights themselves were glowing (depends on the precise speed of the car and whether you, yourself, were travelling...and in which direction), but they wouldn't shine forwards like they normally do. If you were in the car, they would appear normal and would project forwards, as normal.
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I'm sitting in a train, is speed is 250Km/h, I decide to go to the bar my speed relative to the train is 10Km/h ( I'm in a hurry I do need that beer!).
So what is my speed relative to the ground? -
Are you moving forward or backward through the train?
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Forward
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