3 ms·
Photons don't, for counterexample
by beebmam 5y ago
Photons don't, for counterexample
- akomtu 5y agoI'm wary of such absolute statements. I'd put photons near protons in terms of stability: they just don't show signs of decaying.
- ben_w 5y agoI understand the wariness. However, in relativity a photon cannot decay: because it travels at the speed of light and has infinite time dilation, it does not subjectively experience the passage of time in which the possibly of decay could exist.
- hilbert42 5y agoOK, fair enough. But what happens in a homogeneous lossless dielectric with say a velocity factor of about say 0.6? And what would happen in some theoretical meta material where say, values for say µ and ε were lower than their vacuum counterparts? OK, it's a red herring, but interesting to contemplate.
- akomtu 5y agoThat's the model of photon, not the photon itself. A mathematical photon cannot decay. What prevents a photon from hitting a quantum bump on its way between galaxies and become an electron?