Questions tagged [speed-of-light]
The speed of light is a fundamental universal constant that marks the maximum speed at which energy and information can propagate. Its value is $299792458\frac{\mathrm{m}}{\mathrm{s}}$.
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Is a photon truly massless? [duplicate]
First of all, I am not a physicist or mathematician, not even a hobbyist but the following statements have always puzzled me:
$E=mc^2$
A photon is a desecrated particle of energy.
A photon is ...
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Physical meaning of $vx/c^2$ in Lorentz transformation
In Lorentz transformation, this is the formula of time dilation
$$ t' = \gamma \left( t - \frac{vx}{c^2} \right) $$
It can be derivated from the formula of length contraction and be proved ...
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Is there a good quantum explanation of refraction? [duplicate]
I'm aware of the classical explanation of refraction which deals with light being a wave that gets "slowed" down while passing from a medium to another. One problem that I have with this ...
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Black hole production via light speed [duplicate]
As a test particle with rest mass approaches $c$ relativistic mass increases to infinity, does this mean that the energy required to continue the acceleration will create a black hole (as time also ...
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When you are in a gravitational field, do object far away get physically closer to you as you get closer to the mass?
An observer A is close to a black hole and an observer B one light year away. They are both remaining at constant radial distance from the black hole. A is at 2 Rs away from the center of the black ...
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Second postulate of Special Relativity - Finite Invariante Speed?
@JohnRennie, the most decorated physics stack exchange user of all time, answered the question whether the first postulate of special relativity implies the second (Einstein's first postulate ...
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Does the holographic principle allow photons to have a reference frame?
It’s often said that photons cannot be assigned an inertial reference frame, given that doing so would contradict a foundational postulate of special relativity: the invariance of the speed of light; ...
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If the speed of causality changes, could you go FTL?
In the middle of some research, I reached a sort of confusion that I’d like to sort out. In flat space FTL is impossible, because in a Minkowski metric,
$$\mathrm{d}s^2=c^2 \mathrm{d}t^2-\mathrm{d}x^2-...
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How could I calculate the time it will take for light and mass to go towards a black hole and come back, to and from constant radial distances?
If you have a "perfect mirror" and a "perfect trampoline" at some constant distance outside a black hole's event horizon:
a) How would a shell observer at some distance farther ...
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Is it possible to get an electromagnetic wave equation if the speed of light were infinite?
In an old question: How would night sky look like if the speed of light was infinite? the best answer was voted down to negative credits.
I cannot understand why. From Maxwell's equations, we derive ...
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Questions about speed of gravity [duplicate]
If gravity "travels" at $c$, and the sun is travelling "forward", does it mean the planets are actually orbiting various points "behind" the center of the sun? Does it ...
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Beam displacement at focal point
I'm working on a project that uses galvanometers with mirrors. They're configured to have a focal point of 175mm. The motors rotate at 1 mechanical degree per 500mV, that will be 2 degrees optical per ...
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The speed of light in vacuum (but which speed?)
Since there are several different definitions of speed describing light propagation like Group velocity, Front velocity and Phase velocity.
Which speed is meant when the phrase "The speed of ...
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Inconvenience of speed of light in optic fiber
As far as I'm concerned, optic fiber is great in order to transport information quickly using light. Since light needs to undergo total internal reflection every single time it hits the walls of the ...
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Plausible explanation for anomalous plasma antenna time difference of arrival?
Consider the below-pictured time difference of arrival system consisting of two plasma antennas* with opposing DC bias.
Samples of time difference of a 100MHz signal are taken as the TDOA system is ...
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