New physics question

[Irving]

This question is about perception of speed.


If you are sitting still, not moving in any direction, and are passed by a car going 100 mph; will it look the same as if you are traveling in a car going 100 mph, and get passed by a car going 200 mph? So will there be any difference in the distance put between you over a fixed amount of time, between the two scenarios?

In both scenarios, the passing car is traveling 100 mph faster than the perspective point (you). There is only one difference as far as I can tell. When you are sitting still, for every 1ft the passing car travels away from you, you don't move. When you are driving 100mph, and are passed by the car moving 200 mph, for every 2 ft the passing car travels, you make up 1 of those feet.


I haven't put much thought into this one, but I suspect that it can be solved in 2 minutes with a simple distance traveled over time equation. I am no good at math, so I can't come up with said equation.

Have fun.

[Irving]

And if you really want to get involved, you'd throw this bumper sticker in there some where.

[Mtn.man]

I've driven 200+mph.

[sniper7]

I've driven 200+mph.

my top is 136mph in a car (my first car, volkswagon passat with the 1.8T), 142mph on a crotch rocket(yamaha R1), and 695mph in a jet (groundspeed)

[Pistol Packing Preacher]

[/quote]

[sniper7]

This question is about perception of speed.


If you are sitting still, not moving in any direction, and are passed by a car going 100 mph; will it look the same as if you are traveling in a car going 100 mph, and get passed by a car going 200 mph? So will there be any difference in the distance put between you over a fixed amount of time, between the two scenarios?

In both scenarios, the passing car is traveling 100 mph faster than the perspective point (you). There is only one difference as far as I can tell. When you are sitting still, for every 1ft the passing car travels away from you, you don't move. When you are driving 100mph, and are passed by the car moving 200 mph, for every 2 ft the passing car travels, you make up 1 of those feet.


I haven't put much thought into this one, but I suspect that it can be solved in 2 minutes with a simple distance traveled over time equation. I am no good at math, so I can't come up with said equation.

Have fun.

For the car, first off the background behind the vehicle you are looking at would be going by 100 MPH, while the car went by at +100 over your speed, so the look would be different. the first scenario everything would be sitting still except the car, the second scenario the background behind the car would be passing at 100 mph, but the look of the car itself would not really change because there is still a +100 MPH difference.
call it an hour. you are sitting still the car would be 100 miles away from you. second scenario, the car is still doing +100 MPH better than your car and would be 100 miles ahead of you in an hours time, but that car would be 200 miles away from the initial starting point when you first saw the vehicle and you would be 100 miles away from that point.

[Irving]

Yeah, that's pretty much how I break it down too.

I tried not to use the line, "Would it look the same" because it is so subjective. I guess you could describe the set-up in some really long tunnel or something. Either way, whether the perception of the car pulling away from you will look the same or not, the math shows that it should still pull away at the same speed given the variables.

[Irving]

Where at Mtn.Man? If it was in the quarter mile, isn't that like sub 7 second pass?

Motorcycle? circle track?

[SNAFU]

I pegged my Powerstrokes speedometer for 10 minutes,,no idea how fast.Never got pulled over either. Speedometer tops out at 120mph.

[Mtn.man]

Where at Mtn.Man? If it was in the quarter mile, isn't that like sub 7 second pass?

Motorcycle? circle track?

Bandimere RED 201.96 6.96 sec.
37 Chevy P/M 207.37 6.78 sec