how fast does light think light travels?(physics question)

[mietla]

Originally posted by Adogg
...course we're all talking out of our tulips here since none of us have taken our spits into dives in the quest to breech c (speed of light).

But if a journey to Alpha Centauri takes four light years the crew would age (relative to themselves 4 years.) Now what that translates to in earth years I don't know.

Someone correct me please.

No correction necessary. You are right. You are talking out of your ass.

[mietla]

Just kidding. You are correct. the astronauts would age slower that those left on Earth. Coming back, they would find themselves "in their own future".

[Adogg]

Originally posted by mietla
No correction necessary. You are right. You are talking out of your ass.

Thought so. I'll have to remember that next time I take my dentures out.

[Otto]

Pretend you're looking at an open 'Ledger' with a page on each side.  Both are joined in the middle. The page on the left is 'Space'.  The one on the right 'Time'  (A crude example of Space-Time)  Since the moment you came into existence you have been traveling at the SOL (670,000,000 mph) on one, or both of those pages.  Right now you're reading this  on a CRT and most likely have zero speed through Space.   That means your traveling at 'full speed' through Time. The total speed of both pages MUST equal the SOL at all times.  

  Now, if you were to take your car out on the freeway and get up to 70 mph on the Space page you'll reduce your speed to 669,999,930 mph on the Time page.  For you, 'Time' slows down for the duration of your trip.    (This has been proven many time with Atomic clocks.  One on an Airliner and one on the ground)

  Basically, the faster you go through Space, the slower you go through Time.

[Udie]

gravity can distort time too.  I can't even begin to explain how though.  It's alegedly happens at black holes though.  But I have a problem with singularities.  I dont see how the occlusion principle can be over come.  I fail to understand how the mass of a star can be compacted into an infinitely small point in space. Nuetron starts and white dwarfs I can accept but not a singularity, all the rules break down at this point.

[Saurdaukar]

I dont think light thinks at all.

[Eagler]

why do you care?

what difference does it make?

as long as it keeps working now like it did before, I'm happy

[mietla]

Originally posted by Saurdaukar
I dont think light thinks at all.

yeah, because you are dim


Sorry, could not help it.

[mosgood]

OK  here's a question....

How does light travel at all?  Is there a force at work to propell it or attract it?

[vorticon]

hmm...let me rephrase the question because most of what was said is beyond creepy...

if a ship traveld to alpha centuri and back at the speed of light, because the 4 years there is 4 years earth time, said ship should arrive back in earth time 8 years later...but how much time would the crew experience it as and why do people keep saying they would arrive back 20+ earth years later...

maybe i should just send this to discover magazine...they seem to be rather good at dumning answers down to a understandable level

[lasersailor184]

Lol, Hawking and Einstein are wrong!



Time is just a constant measurement.  It doesn't matter how you percieve it.  1 meter from 2 feet away looks a lot larger then 1 meter from 100 feet away.  Doesn't change the fact that it's still 1 meter.

[lasersailor184]

How does light travel at all? Is there a force at work to propell it or attract it?

Conservation of energy.  Something has to cause it to be there.  Once it is there, it has kinetic energy.

[mosgood]

Hey mietla... can you take a crack at getting what lasersailor just said through my thick skull please?

[hitech]

To alpha and back at light speed, would happen instantly and you would have not travled any distance from your perspective of light speed.I.E. Alpha and earth would apear to be at the exact same point in space along with everything else. Now if you stoped when you got to alpha,and took a smoke break, the universe would sundenly expand as you slowed down.

But the real trick would be knowing when to stop since time is not advancing and you percieve no movement, in fact asking the question when to stop even becomes difficult.

It sorta makes the idea of photon emiter and reciever seem very likly in my mind.

HiTech

[mosgood]

So does that mean you really aren't "moving" through space but just appearing at the destination?