einsteinium Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) Is it possible for an object with a constant acceleration to exceed the speed of light relative to its point of origin? What force would be exerted upon the object if it were to lose acceleration when nearing c ? The particle would be accelerating in the exact opposite direction if Einstein's theory does hold true. But why is the object deccelerating? If it's true that their is no limit on acceleration then what makes a photon accelerate away from its source then accelerate in the opposite direction so that V is not greater than 3e8 m/s ? An impulse of energy must be exerted on a photon to make it accelerate from its source within a givin time interval, according to Newton's first and third laws. If photons reach C instantaneously then A is infinite as t = 0 eg, V = U + At Where V = final velocity (m/s) U = initial velocity (m/s) A = acceleration (m/s^2) t = time (s) 3e8 = U + At either U = 3e8 or time and Acceleration are greater than zero If the initial velocity of a photon is zero then what is the time interval and acceleration for which photons reach C ? It has been found that light does react with gravity, i.e a double vision of a galaxy behind another was found and the scientist believes that the light has been bent in the vacuum due to the gravitational field strength of the galaxy in front causing a double vision to occur. Edited January 3, 2009 by einsteinium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilded Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Photons don't accelerate, their velocity is always c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
einsteinium Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 But what about when a photon reflects off a mirror? It would have to change its velocity vector to move in the opposite direction, like if you throw a bouncing ball toward a wall(v = x m/s), it would accelerate in the opposite direction in order to bounce off and away from the wall(v = -x m/s) I see how they assume that photons have a constant velocity according to the equation, v = u + a.t , But when light refracts through a transparent materiel it does so because its velocity decreases which makes the light bend away from the normal. Now this would involve some form of acceleration or could it be related to the energy levels of the photons. A physics experiment has brought light to an almost stand still using a form of gas which must also involve some form of acceleration in order for the photons to decrease in velocity. Maybe the particle accelerator could help investigate some of the yet to be discovered properties of electromagnetic radiation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 But what about when a photon reflects off a mirror? It would have to change its velocity vector to move in the opposite direction, like if you throw a bouncing ball toward a wall(v = x m/s), it would accelerate in the opposite direction in order to bounce off and away from the wall(v = -x m/s) I see how they assume that photons have a constant velocity according to the equation, v = u + a.t , But when light refracts through a transparent materiel it does so because its velocity decreases which makes the light bend away from the normal. Now this would involve some form of acceleration or could it be related to the energy levels of the photons. A physics experiment has brought light to an almost stand still using a form of gas which must also involve some form of acceleration in order for the photons to decrease in velocity. Maybe the particle accelerator could help investigate some of the yet to be discovered properties of electromagnetic radiation. It doesn't bounce; It is absorbed and re-emitted. Same with the "slowing down" of light. There is a delay between the absorption and the re-emission, so while the instantaneous velocity is always c, the average velocity can be a lot lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janus Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 It has been found that light does react with gravity, i.e a double vision of a galaxy behind another was found and the scientist believes that the light has been bent in the vacuum due to the gravitational field strength of the galaxy in front causing a double vision to occur. The bending of light's path when passing a massive object is due to the curvature of space-time. The light follows a geodesic, which is the shortest path it can take. When seen from outside of the curved space-time region, the path appears curved. You see the same thing when you look at maps of airline flight paths. Especially over long flights, jets fly along a geodesic which is the shortest route. If you plot these paths on a map, the lines looked curved: http://www.aaronkoblin.com/work/flightpatterns/FlightMapColor1.jpg So, for instance, if you want to travel to a point due West of your present position, in the Northern hemisphere you would fly a course that starts out at a little North of West, and then gently curves to just South of West on arrival. ( On a globe, geodesics follow "Great Circles" which are circles that bisect the globe. For instance, the Equator and all the lines of longitude follow great circles, the Northern and Southern lines of latitude do not.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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