Question

If you shine a laser toward a friend in a spaceship who is moving away from you at half the speed of light, what do you see? you see the laser light pass your friend at slightly more than the speed of light. you see the laser light pass your friend at the speed of light. you see the laser light pass your friend at 1.5 times the speed of light. you see the laser light pass your friend at half the speed of light. you see the laser light pass your friend at slightly less than the speed of light.

Answer 1

When you shine a laser towards a friend in a spaceship who is moving away from you at half the speed of light, you see the laser light pass your friend at the speed of light.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you shine a laser towards a friend in a spaceship who is moving away from you at half the speed of light, you would see the laser light pass your friend at the speed of light.

This is because the speed of light is constant and does not depend on the relative motion between the source of light and the observer. So, regardless of how fast your friend is moving away from you, you would still perceive the light to be moving at the speed of light.

Answer 2

Einstein postulated in the early 20th century that the speed of light is constant, no matter the reference frame. This was confirmed later on by numerous experiments.

We can create a reference frame in which you are still, and your friend traveling at c/2

If you shine with a laser traveling at c, in your reference frame this would still be c so the correct option is

you see the laser light pass your friend at the speed of light