Subject: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Captain Infinity Newsgroups: alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo Message-ID: <358421fb.23279331@news-f.std.com> When I'm in the left lane doing 105 MPH, and I pass a car doing 100 MPH, why does it take longer to pass it than it does to drive past a stationary car while doing 5 MPH? ** Captain Infinity
Subject: Re: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Dave Newsgroups: alt.fan.bam,alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo,sci.physics,sci.physics.relativity Message-ID: <35815D4F.441F@icanect.net> Plain and Simple Cronan wrote: > > Captain Infinity wrote > >When I'm in the left lane doing 105 MPH, and I pass a car doing 100 MPH, > >why does it take longer to pass it than it does to drive past a stationary > >car while doing 5 MPH? > > Time dilation. > > As anyone can tell you as things speed up you're really slowing down because > you're heavier than when you started. Thus cars that are faster are inherently > slower. I'd take the time to explain it to you but I don't think that you'd > understand it. It's all part of relativity theory. Time dilation, yes. But not due to some silly weight/speed corrolary to relativity theory, rather it's physiological. You see, the faster you drive, the more your heart races, thus the quicker your metabolic processes become. This allows you to see things more clearly, even more 'slowly'. (Like the phenomenon where people in life threatening situations later report that it seemed like it was happening 'in slow motion'.) it's this physiological effect that causes you to *think* you're passing the car at a slower rate than if you were only going 5 MPH and it was standing still.
Subject: Re: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Infinity@world.std.com (Captain Infinity) Newsgroups: alt.fan.bam,alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo,sci.physics,sci.physics.relativity Message-ID: <35865fed.17220699@news-f.std.com> In article <35815D4F.441F@icanect.net> Dave wrote: >You see, the faster you drive, the more your heart races, thus the >quicker your metabolic processes become. This allows you to see things >more clearly, even more 'slowly'. (Like the phenomenon where people in >life threatening situations later report that it seemed like it was >happening 'in slow motion'.) Fascinating. Okay, let's see...what if I were driving at the speed of light? My heart would be beating at an accelerated rate that would be at some (unknown) constant ratio with the driving speed. Also, let's say I already have an accelerated heartbeat for some other reason...maybe my girlfriend and I are hopped up on pills, and she has her head in my lap. :-) What if I then entered some sort of life-threatening situation...say I lost control of the car. My heartbeat would increase some more, and therefore the car would go faster. Let's also say it turned into another other type of anxiety-producing situation...like if the out-of-control-car was headed for a group of nuns pushing baby carriages while walking 10-week-old puppies. The car would zoom forward because my heart would beat even faster, right? Would I at some point suddenly be thrust into reverse-time, and start streaking backwards? Or would I warp directly into the past, thereby avoiding the accident altogether, and creating a paradox? Please let me know ASAP, I'm getting a tune-up this weekend and my girlfriend is buying us some amphetamines and I want to know if I'll need to call in sick on Monday. ** Captain Infinity ...diagonally parked in a parallel dimension
Subject: Re: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Infinity@world.std.com (Captain Infinity) Newsgroups: alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo,sci.physics,sci.physics.relativity Message-ID: <3587c599.964554@news-f.std.com> In article <6lvo37$kei$2@supernews.com> Mark Folsom wrote: >>Humans are not designed to go much over 30 mph. >>Our senses aren't up to the task. > >In what sense are they not up to the task? Their sense of humor. Scientific studies show that jokes can only travel about 27-28 MPH, so if someone travels much faster than that, they won't "get it". >With all of our foibles (getting >drunk, falling asleep, speeding, tailgating, running red lights, etc.), we >suffer 1.7 traffic fatalities per 100,000,000 vehicle miles. In the places >where we drive the fastest (often averaging more than 75 mph), namely >freeways, we have the fewest accidents and the fewest fatalities. In >addition, (West) German Autobahns (some with no speed limits) have no higher >fatality rate than American Interstate Highways. SciAm published an article >a few years ago which reported that driving was safer than commercial >airlines for trips up to about 315 miles one way. Yes, but! most, if not all auto accidents occur when traveling back the *other* way. We'd all be perfectly safe if we only had to go one way! But I and everybody I know eventually turns around and goes *back*. And that's where the trouble begins. Hey, if all the drinkers went to the bars, got drunk, and *stayed there*, there'd be no alcohol-related accidents. Although there'd probably be a lot more bar fights. ** Captain Infinity ...I was in an alcohol-related Roller Coaster Car accident once. ...and I have the dry-cleaning bills to prove it.
Subject: Re: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Infinity@world.std.com (Captain Infinity) Newsgroups: alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo Message-ID: <3581236a.1727469@news-f.std.com> Me: >> When I'm in the left lane doing 105 MPH, and I pass a car doing 100 MPH, >> why does it take longer to pass it than it does to drive past a stationary >> car while doing 5 MPH? In article <6lpvni$5bm@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net> LouAnne wrote: >I think it's the doppler effect... (or is that the force that makes Dairy >Queen ice cream cones have that neat lil' swirl at the top?) I always eat the little swirl last. I mean *last*. After I've eaten everything else. In the universe. In article <6lq0mg$5j6$1@jetsam.uits.indiana.edu> Daniel Fredrick Etter wrote: >That's the coriolis effect, and in Australia the Dairy Queen twist cones >swirl the other direction. That's because Australians's stick the ice cream cone into the toilet bowl INSTEAD OF INTO THE LIQUID CHOCOLATE TOPPING! Next week I'll explain giraffes, and their secret connection with Rocket Pops. In article <6lq1h5$5bm@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net> LouAnne wrote >Only in Austrailia, they are "Dairy Bushmen" not "Dairy Queens". I mean, what >kind of pooftah name is Dairy Queen, anyway? So what's a "Burger King" down there? "Burger Aborigine"? Doesn't quite scan, duzzit? >Marsupial swirl, Fosters-on-a-stick, and Funnel spider fudge... mmmm. > >LouAnne LouAnne... mmmm. ;-) <---BLATANTLY SUGGESTIVE FLIRTATION WINKY ** Captain Infinity
Subject: Re: Something I wonder about...about passing other cars From: Infinity@world.std.com (Captain Infinity) Newsgroups: alt.fan.bam,alt.fan.cecil-adams,alt.fan.tom-servo,sci.physics,sci.physics.relativity Message-ID: <358b47e2.1964446@news-f.std.com> In article <35882CD2.1CFB@research.bell-labs.com> Ken Cox wrote: >Captain Infinity wrote >>When I'm in the left lane doing 105 MPH, and I pass a car doing 100 MPH, >>why does it take longer to pass it than it does to drive past a stationary >>car while doing 5 MPH? > >I suspect the problem is with the word "longer". It will take no >more *time* to pass, but you will certainly go much farther during >the maneuver. > >Speculatively, given the link between events and psychological time, >it might seem longer because of the greater number of lane stripes, >lampposts, and so on that you pass. I decided to test this hypothesis on my way home from work tonight. Before leaving the parking lot, I drove past a parked car while traveling 5MPH, and noted the time. Then I went out onto the highway. It took a while to get enough clear lane ahead of me to get my Crown Victoria up to 105 MPH, but I eventually did edge up to a Dodge Dart that seemed to be doing a strained 100. Then I closed my eyes and counted out the seconds it had taken me to pass the parked car. Keeping my eyes closed was difficult, because there were some pretty interesting sounds going on around me; screeches, horns blowing, breaking glass and screaming metal, etc. When I finally opened my eyes to see if I had passed the Dart yet, I found that the experiment had been a failure. It seems he had decided to stop and gawk at the accident scene I saw in the rearview mirror. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow and let you know how it turns out. ** Captain Infinity
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