4 ms·
There may be a form of information transfer that’s much faster than light, on the longitudinal axis of gravity.
by thirdsurf 7y ago
There may be a form of information transfer that’s much faster than light, on the longitudinal axis of gravity.
- solstice 7y agoCould you elaborate? This would be news to me
- chongli 7y agoLight gets slowed down whenever it passes through any medium. For example, it can take thousands of years for the light produced by fusion in the Sun to reach the surface of the photosphere. Neutrinos, on the other hand, can pass through the Sun largely unimpeded and reach us far more quickly. This is in spite of the fact that neutrinos do not travel as fast as light in a vacuum. The same possibility holds true for gravitational waves, since they are unimpeded by matter as well. They even have the advantage of propagating at the speed of light, unlike neutrinos.
- the8472 7y agoThe premise of your argument is flawed. > For example, it can take thousands of years for the light produced by fusion in the Sun to reach the surface of the photosphere This is not due to free travel of light through a transparent medium with a high index of refraction or due to gravity. Through a large part of the sun energy is transported by convection and even in the radiative zone photons get frequently absorbed and remitted, the mean free path is below 1cm.
- sudhirj 7y agoThis seems to be a common misconception because of the way the property is named. What we’re referring to is the maximum speed of information through the fabric of space time. Light (photons) travel at that speed when unimpeded, as do neutrinos, gravity waves, magnetic effects and anything on the electro magnetic spectrum. ‘Slowing’ down light by putting it in a reflective cylinder, water or fiber optic cable doesn’t change the nature of the universe or help achieve faster than light information exchange - it just means some photons are experiencing a traffic jam.