1126
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago

I think you've got to be a little careful how you say what you mean here:

In light's own reference frame, this is true-ish from a pure special relativity perspective. Velocity is sort of undefined in that case because at c, Lorentz transformations bring all distances to zero, meaning that the photon is everywhere at the SAME time. Or said another way, it's everywhere on its own simultaneity curve. Maybe this is splitting hairs on the definition of "undefined" because, mathematically yeah you're right, but a rock also moves zero distance in zero time. Its more like it's velocity doesnt make sense to compute.

From the outside though (as in a non photon frame) this is not true at all. Using laws of refraction you can compute, and even photograph and verify a real, defined speed for a photon in a medium.

this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2024
1126 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

10853 readers
3346 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS