• Question: My Dad told me that time slows down as you approach the speed of light. Is this true and if it is, do we move at the same speed as light but time is sped up so it makes it look like it is moving infinitely quickly?

    Asked by chestnutdreams to Adam, Gabriel, Sarah, Sophie on 15 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Sophie Williams

      Sophie Williams answered on 15 Mar 2018:

      If we reached the speed of light we ourselves would think that you was going the same speed but that other objects around you were doing slower

    • Photo: Gabriel Balaban

      Gabriel Balaban answered on 15 Mar 2018:

      There is a twist to the theory of relativity, it only talks about differences. So if you are moving at the speed of light compared to somebody else you will experience your time in the normal way, but the other person will measure your time a lot more slowly then you would.

      A good example of this is the “twin paradox”, where if one twin stays on the Earth and the other makes a very fast journey and comes back, then the twin that went on the journey will have aged less. The twin that travels will measure less time than the one who stay behind.

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