Relativistic Riddle Racing Light.

[mitchellmckain 0]

Hmm... That's really weird... I thought you'd just add the two speeds together to get the real velocity...

Addition is what happens in the formula if the two velocities are small. For example .01% and .01% of the speed of light in the formula gives .019998% percent of the speed of light (which is close enough to .02% dont you think).

That is really hard to believe that it's true, cause it doesn't seem to make sense... Isn't the alien traveling only a bit faster than us?

No the alien really is traveling a lot faster than we are. That is why the speed of light really is like an infinite speed because a second alien can be traveling 99% of the speed of light faster than the first, and a third alien 99% of the speed of light faster than the second, and so on and so on.... But the earth sees all of these aliens as traveling closer to the speed of light but always less than the speed of light.

If it is moving at 99%C, why would it think that we're moving at less than 1% of C?

People on earth would think the alien is only going a little bit faster than you (if you call .995% of the speed of light little), while the alien thinks you are only going a little faster than the earth. You however see the earth going 99% of the speed of light one way and the alien going 99% of the speed of light in the opposite direction.

Or does this involve time and light distortion again?

If the slow down of time idea helps you understand this, it is fine, however, I don't really think of it that way, I must admit. What is going on with time is a bit more complicated.
Anyway, the point is that, where, when, how fast, and even the order of events, unlike the fact of whether an event (like the laser beam hitting someone) occurs, are all things that depend on how fast you are moving (and in what direction). However, the change in the order of events never reverses cause and effect because cause and effect can never be connected by something faster than the speed of light.

[qwijibow 0]

ahhh, okay its all making sence now.plus ijust been plaing with lightspeed.it shows how the start ship voyager would be bent in space at different speeds.have a look at it if you have a *nix + X11 OS available, you can get it on sourceforge.