3 ms·
IANAS but from what I understand, the speed is constant, but it appears to travel more slowly due to the atoms found along the way, which absorb and reemit the
by anuila 6y ago
IANAS but from what I understand, the speed is constant, but it appears to travel more slowly due to the atoms found along the way, which absorb and reemit the photon.
In the case of the fibers, the light just bounces on the walls of the tube, effectively lengthening the distance it has to travel.
It's like saying that I did not drive a 50 mph simply because I took a longer detour: I still drove 50 mph, but I did not go in a straight line.
- foxyv 6y ago> In the case of the fibers, the light just bounces on the walls of the tube, effectively lengthening the distance it has to travel. This is incorrect, the reduced speed of light is due to the properties of the material through which the light is traveling. The material has in fact changed the speed of light. The wave equation of light is dictated by the permittivity and permeability of the material through which it propagates. This is just a property of electromagnetic waves. Only the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant. Or more accurately, the permeability and permittivity of a vacuum.
- fomine3 6y agoAlso fun: low latency fiber is made in space. https://upward.issnationallab.org/the-race-to-manufacture-zblan/ https://upward.issnationallab.org/the-race-to-manufacture-zb...