I think people are assuming once light enters this medium, it slows down instantly, causing a backlog , but since the post indicated light traveled as slow as 60 kph, that implies that is does in some instances travel faster and that also implies there is a gradual change of speed.
Crazy Physics Question
- Thread starter Yoga Face
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I believe some of the light is absorbed by the wall and what we see is the reflected light
Different colors absorb different light waves
All right, you Einsteins, get back to work and pluck those chickens! What the fuck do you guys thing this is? This is not the Los Alamos National Laboratory for atomic research, and your not a bunch rocket scientist.
I want to be a rocket surgeon
Yes, I meant that when it 'stops' at the wall, it is absorbed or reflected. In fact, if the photons weren't there, you wouldn't see the wall or it's colour.
Stoo
Fellated Member
I'll give you the same answer that I used on a 4th year bio-physics final many, many years ago. "Who cares?"
Apparently, our Professor did, and I flunked the exam. (I actually did care, but had no idea how to solve the particular question... kinda like now.)
In all seriousness though, I think a good analogy for this would be to compare the light waves to a slinky. As the slinky comes up against a more dense medium, the "coils" that follow will jamb up, then spread out again once the medium changes again. If the slow-down approaches "stopped", the light will reflect, refract, or even change to heat...
Apparently, our Professor did, and I flunked the exam. (I actually did care, but had no idea how to solve the particular question... kinda like now.)
In all seriousness though, I think a good analogy for this would be to compare the light waves to a slinky. As the slinky comes up against a more dense medium, the "coils" that follow will jamb up, then spread out again once the medium changes again. If the slow-down approaches "stopped", the light will reflect, refract, or even change to heat...
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Except each photon of light is an individual entity so it is irrelevent what the next one or the previous one is doing. It also isn't really compacted. All that changes is the wavelength of that photon's movement (to keep the marathon analogy going, akin to the runner changing the length of each stride when they are running on a different surface - the runner himself does not get thinner). Also when the light 'escapes' (leaves the medium) it reverts to it's initial speed so there is no build-up.
As for asn, I'm only an engineer so all that theoretical stuff isn't where my mind is.
OK, so if the wavelengh shortens, then there's some sort of compaction in the space between the bundles of photons.
O
OnTheWayOut
This is how I imagine light passes through a slower medium:
_____/_____/_____/_____/_____/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_____/_____/_____/_____/_____/
There is no 'bunching up' of the light going all the way back to its source!
Light slows down all the time without this effect, like when it passes through water or alcohol. The neat thing is it speeds back up upon exit!
Credit to the OP for an interesting thread, but I was unable to google the article in question. Can someone post up this article?
_____/_____/_____/_____/_____/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_____/_____/_____/_____/_____/
There is no 'bunching up' of the light going all the way back to its source!
Light slows down all the time without this effect, like when it passes through water or alcohol. The neat thing is it speeds back up upon exit!
Credit to the OP for an interesting thread, but I was unable to google the article in question. Can someone post up this article?
Well Dong Joe, Einstein himself said that imagination was more important than education or knowledge. Your illustration is very good.
I thought there was nothing faster than the speed of light, not sure how light in a nuclear reactors goes faster than the speed of light.
There's nothing faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. That's different than the speed at which a photon travels through a medium like glass. In the nuclear reactor some particles are accelerated to high speeds and pass through material faster than the speed of photons travel through that material, but still slower than the speed of light in a vacuum.
