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 Originally Posted by chemist
I like the theoretical question about the headlights working,
I would suggest they would because the speed of light is not infinite, so you can have the speed of light +1, and as the headlights are 'in theory' traveling at the speed of light, the light emanating from them would still be relative to the headlight.
If you are traveling under the speed of light (by even the slightest infinitesimal amount, then there is a clear answer. The speed of light in vacuum is constant in all inertial reference frames. Therefore, your headlights look normal to you.
Originally Posted by chemist
I'd also like to know whether light is a particle or a wave.
Yes. There is no physical distinction between a particle and a wave in quantum mechanics.
In fact a man named J. J. Thompson won the Nobel prize in physics in 1906 for his work demonstrating that electrons are particles. Then in 1937, his son, G. P. Thompson received the Nobel prize in physics for his work demonstrating that electrons are waves.
I, personally, have recreated experiments that demonstrate both the wavelike and particle-like behavior of photons. I speak with firsthand knowledge that photons are BOTH waves AND particles.
Originally Posted by chemist
But anyway a similar but easier question regarding an observable speed.
If you are traveling at the speed of sound and you fart, can anyone hear you,
or smell you, (what speed do smells travel at)?
Yes, anyone who is behind the shock wave will hear you (assuming your flatulence was released with a proud rapport that made you question the changing of your under-linens.)
Even those in front of the shock wave may hear evidence of your foul emanation after the wave front has passed them.
The speed of smell is a function of fluid dynamical factors such as ambient flow, turbulence, temperature, nearby surfaces, viscosity of the carrier fluid, etc.
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