guardian Posted December 9, 2005 Posted December 9, 2005 My question is, is it sensical or non-sensical to use a photon reference frame to observe, using relativity, another photon? If it is sensical, then what is happening in terms of time dilation/length contraction in the following cases... Case A: 2 parallel photons travelling in the same direction separated by some arbitrary small distance say 1 mm. I understand that this would perhaps constitute the same frame of reference for both photons but, photon A would observe photon B to be travelling at c, is this not right? Lorentz transform would give us an undefined (division by 0) answer, is this correct? Case B: 2 minutely diverging photons (coming from same source - may even be entangled) eg. 1 mm apart after 1 second ie having travelled approx. 3x10^8 m Case C: 2 photons diverging at a 60 degree angle from the same source - may even be entangled. Case D: 2 parallel photons (in close proximity) travelling in opposite directions separated by some small distance say 1 mm. Is this the same as case A? Just need things cleared up by the experts. Thanks.
Meir Achuz Posted December 14, 2005 Posted December 14, 2005 "My question is, is it sensical or non-sensical to use a photon reference frame to observe, using relativity, another photon?" NON
Martian Posted January 4, 2006 Posted January 4, 2006 NON Thats a loaded answer...Could you explain a bit more so lay-people such as myself can understand it? I get the original question. I just don't get the answer it was given.
Meir Achuz Posted January 18, 2006 Posted January 18, 2006 I just noticed Martian's followup. I had just followed his advice before he gave it. NON meant nonsensical. It is impossible to get into the rest frame of a photon. I didn't read past that. Now I see that case A shows it is impossible. The rest makes no sense to me. Sorry
JustStuit Posted January 18, 2006 Posted January 18, 2006 Is is sensical the same as sensible? I'm confused.
□h=-16πT Posted January 18, 2006 Posted January 18, 2006 It is non-sensical to use a photon rest frame to conduct any observations. This is simply because such a rest frame is undefined, as the four-velocity is indeterminate (0/0) etc.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now