Ripples in Space

[noseall]

The speed of light within the glass is unchanged.

That's not true - that's the whole point.

Ref' to movement of light in a denser medium:
In between molecules light still travels at light speed. It’s just that, with all those molecules around, it’s always darting ahead, getting absorbed, pausing for a moment, then being re-emitted. On the scale we’re used too, this happens so much and so fast that you don’t notice the starting-and-stopping. Instead you notice an average slowing of the light

The speed of light is constant.

 

[wobs]

I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to these grand astrological discoveries. Any scientist spending £millions/billions on a project will, after a time see what they want to see. The bean counters will always want a return for their investment, so its easy for the 'experts' to offer a snippet of a grand discovery which baffles the layman.

So why is the most common conclusion in science basically "we don't know"?

 

[EFLImpudence]

A block of glass is not a vacuum.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Speed of light is indeed constant, but it can be confusing for many, it really means that the actual speed of light does not vary, that is in vacuum, and runs at a steady pace, irrespective of the speed of other bodies travelling in space at their own different pace and direction, so relative to the source of light, the wavelength of light reaching the moving object may be different or change but the speed of light striking that object does not change.

Light can have different wavelengths, it is part of a wider electromagnetic spectrum, where different colours of light have different wavelengths.

Imagine you are in a rocket travelling at half the speed of light, and you are moving away from the source of light ( let us say it is a sun) and the rays of light that left sun travelling at SOL (speed of light) will still strike that object at SOL, despite it is moving away rapidly, the SOL did not change when it struck the object, in another example, a truck was travelling at 50mph, and a sports car doing 120mph strikes the truck from the rear, the speed of car was not 120-50 = 70mph, the fact is the speed of that car was still 120mph. The impact may be less, hence impact is the equivalent of a wavelength.

so if it was the other way around where the truck was heading towards the car still travelling at 50mph, and the car was still travelling at 120mph and both hit head on, the impact would be totally different, it would be equal to 120+50 = 170mph crash, hence why we say that speed of light is constant and only the wavelength changes as we move away or move towards the source of light.

This is how by studying the shift in its wavelength that we know if objects emitting light in the very far distance are moving away from us as the wavelength shifts and we call this a red shift, hence how we managed to figure out that the universe is expanding.

If we start seeing a blue shift it won't be very good for us, sooner or later something will be reaching us too close for our comfort! But the speed of light from those objects emitting the light does not change and remains constant.

 

[EFLImpudence]

This is how by studying the shift in its wavelength that we know if objects emitting light in the very far distance are moving away from us as the wavelength shifts and we call this a red shift, hence how we managed to figure out that the universe is expanding.

Unless there is another reason for the effect which has not yet been discovered.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

A block of glass is not a vacuum.

I have to agree that logically speaking light must get some delay as it passes through glass, negotiating its path bouncing off atoms in a denser material, to the extent that it could stops completely when it strikes solid opaque objects, where it can no longer find its way around and gets absorbed or bounces off to somewhere else and not emerge through it. If it does emerge from the other side through a clear or a translucent/transparent object, it may still travel at SOL but after a slight delay, as an example you are driving on a motorway doing 70mph, and all of a sudden you hit a patch that has two lanes closed off with not a soul in sight doing any maintenance, as typically you come across Britain's Motorways, oh there excuse is concrete is drying! have they not heard of quick drying cement?) , and this slows you right down to say 10mph, causing you unnecessary delay, but once you hit the clear patch again, you would be doing 70mph again., so what that means is light has not slowed down but delayed, you can now work out what that means!

and in another scenario, you were driving as usual doing 70mph, and you hit a concrete block some stupid prat threw down a motorway bridge, and you crashed into it, your car hits it stops, it doesn't bounce off or heads into a different direction, its just stopped full stop. Other cars behind you will also run in your back and there will be a big pile up behind!

 

[EFLImpudence]

I was merely replying to noseall who said the SOL did not alter in a block of glass.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

I am only making general comments not trying to say anything to you in particular mate.

just some thoughts and ideas really, in another example if you can imagine a black box that has mirrors such that light entering one aperture from one end has to travel inside the box a distance of (hypothetical) 93Million miles, same as our Sun from our Earth, so if you shine a torch through one port and after it has travelled a distance of 93 million miles inside bouncing off mirrors after mirrors, millions and millions of them, the light would in theory eventually emerge 8 minutes later, in reality that can't happen on earth as the light would lose energy each time it bounces off a mirror and by the time it has travelled only a few thousand miles inside the box its intensity would be substantially reduced that you would never see any light emerge, you would blame noseall for not constructing that box accurately or not using mirrors that reflect 100% light!

 

[noseall]

I was merely replying to noseall who said the SOL did not alter in a block of glass.

It doesn't. It just gets bounced about as I have said. Did you read the bold print?

In between molecules light still travels at light speed. It’s just that, with all those molecules around, it’s always darting ahead, getting absorbed, pausing for a moment, then being re-emitted. On the scale we’re used too, this happens so much and so fast that you don’t notice the starting-and-stopping. Instead you notice an average slowing of the light

The speed of light is constant.

 

[noseall]

A block of glass is not a vacuum.

Correct.
Then I did some research to back up what I theorised earlier about the light bouncing about in a denser medium. Seems I was correct. The speed of light bounces around at the speed of light (C) and may get distorted or absorbed. However, its speed within the molecules of the glass is constant.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Your explanation is disputed and does not equate with the light exiting in one direction.

 

[noseall]

Your explanation is disputed

Dispute all you like. The speed of light is constant.

and does not equate with the light exiting in one direction.

Is this another typical EFLI post, i.e. one of those that was never intended to make any sense? Or can you explain what you mean?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Only to those not good at reading English. That's you, that is.


Disputed by those in the know, not me.

If the light is bounced about inside the glass, how come it goes straight through and comes out in the same direction?

 

[noseall]

Only to those not good at reading English. That's you, that is.

Your English sometimes suffers from a composition disorder. I'm not the only one to notice either.

Disputed by those in the know, not me.

Are you talking about light passing through a dense medium i.e. glass etc or the theory involving the passage of light being interrupted by immense astrological events?

If the light is bounced about inside the glass, how come it goes straight through and comes out in the same direction?

It doesn't. Google prism and Google refraction.

 

[Brigadier]

If the light is bounced about inside the glass, how come it goes straight through and comes out in the same direction?

It doesn't. Google prism and Google refraction.

Why bother with frosted glass for bathrooms then?