Take a guess at this question.

Txboy1234

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If you are traveling faster then the speed of light, is there a shadow behind you. Take a guess, it's a fun thing to think about.

There are theorys about it but I don't believe it has ever been seen what happens behind something that travels faster then the speed of light.
 

Willchill

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One theory is that when an object is traveling at/past the speed of light, the object becomes light. If the object(s) moving faster than the speed of light IS light, the light would light up the area behind it. Think of it as a super-fast camera flash. After the object(s) have passed, it would be dark, because the light would be gone.

So yes, if that made sense, then there -would- be a shadow behind an object(s) that is moving faster than the speed of light.

Another: If an object(s) was traveling faster than the speed of light, would the object(s) be able to escape the gravitational pull of a Black Hole?
 

Defiant_Blob

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I kinda think it'd be a partial shadow. Think of it this way:
Rain is falling down from the sky. You walk through it normally. There are spots that rain doesn't hit because you are blocking it. This would be your "shadow".

Rain is falling down from the sky. You go through it at faster than the speed of rain. You would block some rain drops, but some rain drops manage to hit the ground, but some are blocked by you.

Basically, kind of a light shadow.
 

ReyvnNova

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I think that your shadow will split from you, becoming a single entity. However, the shadow has never known anything besides following its master, and so it tags along for a while. Time passes, and it grows spiteful and angry that you have enslaved it for so long. It begins to haunt you. Sometimes on your way to work, you spot it creeping down an alley. At Starbucks you see it eating a doughnut as it stares at you.

Then it becomes famous because it's a living shadow and gets a mansion and a sweet music gig while you still walk to work every morning.
 

Vatumok

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I took some time for this because I was bored.

1) Imagining this with a person is pretty hard so I used a cubic box to make it a lot easier, let's assume the box is 1 by 1 by 1 meter. Also it's known that the speed of the box is faster than the speed (v: velocity) of the light of the sun above the box. Note: at the location of the box itself is of course no light.

2) Let's assume the box travels 2 times faster than light, in the time that the box travels 1 meter, light travels 0,5 meter. In the picture you can see that the box travels faster and so leaves a trail of darkness because the light cannot keep up.

3) I would expect to get an effect like this (not per say assuming that the box travels 2x faster) if a box would travel faster than light. Of course this is assuming that the sun is above the box all the time and it's not a person, but I think it would give a similar effect: a long trail of darkness/shadow that the person/box left behind when travelling.

I have no idea if this is true in any way, but it's my theory.
 

Swate

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The speed of light is the fastest possible achievable velocity in a three-dimensional plane. So, the question is unanswerable. HOWEVER, if it was possible, I believe that to everyone travelling slower than the speed of light, you wouldn't have a shadow. But from your perspective, it would look like you have a shadow that goes forever behind you.

The Principle of Relativity states that a vehicle moving at constant speed, disregarding wind resistance if the contents are not inclosed, has the same physics as one not moving at all. Einstein himself also worked out that time distortedly slows down in a moving vehicle, but only from the perspective of a person outside the vehicle. One of his brainy colleagues then proposed this problem - if you were on a train moving at the speed of light, wouldn't you be able to just walk forward in the train to travel faster than the speed of light? Yes, however... in order for a person to see something, light photons have to bounce from their eyes, to the object, and then back again. The light can go back to the object, but it can't catch back up to your eyes. Therefore, if you looked behind you, it would look as if you were in a room with no lights on.

Back to the posed shadow problem, seeing as though you do and don't have a shadow at the same time, but whether or not you do is dependent on your perspective, it's sort of like the Schrodinger's Cat paradox. Look it up if you don't know it. :p

So, in conclusion, yes you should still be scared of Slenderman even if you move faster than the speed of light. Oh, wait, no that's not the theory. Sorry, I'll try again - in conclusion, whether or not you have a shadow or not is dependent on your perspective. At least, that's the reckoning of my 13-year-old brain, I'm probably wrong in some way. :C

Good theory, me gusta. :)
 

shawnachu

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for the sake of reasoning we're going to assume that we're seeing this from the point of view of an observer standing some distance away, and that he can actually perceive this happening (seeing any object moving at or near the speed of light is pretty much impossible, since by the time the light bouncing off the object reaches your eyes the object itself is really fucking far away)

(also assume the object doesn't explode or some shit due to completely disobeying the laws of physics)


so let's assume that the object is moving at the speed of light toward a light source
thing -----------> light source
that also means that the light is moving toward the object
thing <-----light------ light source

so yes, there would be a shadow behind the object since the light would not be able to reach the area directly behind said object. it's just that nobody can see it because it's moving too fucking fast

now if the object was moving AWAY from the light source, we would have a different story

source -------light--------> ---------> thing
there is no area that the light cannot reach because the object is moving AT the speed of the light. in fact, the object would be completely invisible from behind due to the photons not being able to reflect off the object. if the object were to suddenly disappear, the light behind it would simply keep on moving. there would be no shadow in front of the object.

or at least, i think (until i learn special relativity and about objects moving at close to light speed)

either way you're fucking with physics

don't fuck with physics

you'll die

gravity is a bitch
 

JWB101197

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I'd say there would be no shadow.

A person standing still with light coming into contact with them is blocked from reaching the ground due to the person being in that spot.

BUT, if you are moving faster than the speed of light, do you actually exist? Yes, you are existant in the three dimensions, but you are essentially invisible because you are moving faster than the time it takes for
light to move.

However, for you to even travel faster than the speed of light you'd require a time measurement smaller than 'planck time', which is the smallest amount of time that any kind of movement or 'work' of any single thing in the universe can be performed. Any time length smaller than this is insignificant due to absolutely nothing happening. This means you can 'work' faster than light can, which would essentially make light unable to produce a shadow from you because you move from your position before it has time to 'hit you' persay.

Let's say that
D = Distance Travelled in < 1 'planck time'
X = Speed of light
Y = Any speed > Speed of light

Therefore: D x X = 0
Whereas: D x Y = > 0

Therefore for D to equal anything greater than 0 the value of Y must be greater than 299,792,458 (Speed of Light)

I'm most likely wrong but it's and interesting theory to think about :)
 
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