what do you think would happen if light bends?

what if light bends?

Total Votes:

[ 0 ]

This poll closed on February 16, 2005.
No longer accepting new votes.

[otakujack]

Halite15

Okay, light is not bent by gravity

More importantly light does not 'bend' going through water. Light travels slower in more dense objects (diamonds, etc.). This means that where the light would have originaly gone to (without the substance) is altered.

the speed of light is a universal constant. it CANNOT travel slower. and it is bent by gravity.

[rostheskunk]

otakujack

Halite15

Okay, light is not bent by gravity

More importantly light does not 'bend' going through water. Light travels slower in more dense objects (diamonds, etc.). This means that where the light would have originaly gone to (without the substance) is altered.

the speed of light is a universal constant. it CANNOT travel slower. and it is bent by gravity.

The speed of light is a constant but it can be calculated from two other constants.

C=1/(u*e) u=permiability of free space e=permitivity of free space

If you could change either u or e you could change the speed of light. Just thought this would be a fun fact for ya.

[B A S T A R D]

Did the guy say light travels slower? WTF?!? Where did you get that from. You show me the literature in which you learned that light can vary from it's set constant speed and I will buy you a damn diamond to shine your light through. Light has always been set in one speed, thus the term "speed of light". Things are actually measured off of it therefor it can not very. That would be like saying. "sometime in inch is shorter". When you shine a laser into a diamond it refracts. If you are seeing the beam move slower you are either misinturpreting the prism effect or you are on some serious meds. Either way, I'd love to live in that world a bit.

[phasmaexmachina]

Halite15

Also, if light was bent by gravity that means that the light of the sun would never reach us.

Light goes straight. Spacetime bends with gravity and motion.

Halite15

Light is massesless so it would be affected by gravity infinitly.

Plug in a mass of zero into Newton's Law of Gravity and you get zero force.

Halite15

Okay, so lets pretend it has a tiny mass. Now it is affected a ton.

Show me the equation that says that.

Halite15

This does force light to bend, and is what sucks it into black holes (still, where does it go?).

It becomes part of the black hole.

Halite15

For more on this phenomenon, look up fire in non gravity situations. That is right, gravity keep fire from floating away... ******** weird.

No. Gravity just keeps fire from moving unidirectionally. It still expands until it runs out of oxygen.

otakujack

light DOES have mass and is affected by gravity. smile

Light has momentum and energy but no mass. Objects with mass can't travel at light speed.

otakujack

the speed of light is a universal constant. it CANNOT travel slower. and it is bent by gravity.

The speed of light in a vacuum is constant. The speed of light in a material depends on that material's index of refraction.

Caffiend

You show me the literature in which you learned that light can vary from it's set constant speed and I will buy you a damn diamond to shine your light through.

Check as many of these links as you want: http://www.google.com/search?q=index+of+refraction+speed
Now where's my diamond?

I'm supprised no one has mentioned mentioned light bending when it undergoes diffraction.

[otakujack]

phasmaexmachina

otakujack

light DOES have mass and is affected by gravity. smile

Light has momentum and energy but no mass. Objects with mass can't travel at light speed.

momentum = velocity * mass. if something has momentum, it has mass. e=mc^2. energy has mass.

[xsparkledovex]

Photons are massless. It's a fact.

[B A S T A R D]

*cracks knuckles* Yes, but you are now talking about fractured light. Light moves at different speeds when it's different colors meaning it is only one portion of the light. Pure light itself, without any colors removed can only move at one constant speed. If you seperate it red colors move slower than blue colors (if I remember the speed order correctly). But even those colors have constant speeds and can't really slow down. By going through the sprectrum you can speed up and slow down effects but that's no longer talking about regular light.

[cristal2]

otakujack

Illegal Miner

It happens every day. Why do you think your body looks slightly off when it's submerged into water? Because water bends light.

actually, the light is refracted by passing through different mediums. not bent. but gravity does indeed bend light.

exactly my thouts! 3nodding

[otakujack]

Caffiend

*cracks knuckles* Yes, but you are now talking about fractured light. Light moves at different speeds when it's different colors meaning it is only one portion of the light. Pure light itself, without any colors removed can only move at one constant speed. If you seperate it red colors move slower than blue colors (if I remember the speed order correctly). But even those colors have constant speeds and can't really slow down. By going through the sprectrum you can speed up and slow down effects but that's no longer talking about regular light.

when we get into discussing different colors of light, we are talking about variations in wavelength. not speed.

[cristal2]

Caffiend

*cracks knuckles* Yes, but you are now talking about fractured light. Light moves at different speeds when it's different colors meaning it is only one portion of the light. Pure light itself, without any colors removed can only move at one constant speed. If you seperate it red colors move slower than blue colors (if I remember the speed order correctly). But even those colors have constant speeds and can't really slow down. By going through the sprectrum you can speed up and slow down effects but that's no longer talking about regular light.

light moves at different speeds in different mediums

[phasmaexmachina]

otakujack

momentum = velocity * mass. if something has momentum, it has mass. e=mc^2. energy has mass.

Momentum = velocity * mass only applies for objects that have mass so you can't use that argument here. For photons, momentum = planck's constant / wavelength.

Caffiend

If you seperate it red colors move slower than blue colors (if I remember the speed order correctly).

That only applies when light is moving in a medium and blue moves slower than red since blue has a higher index of refraction. In a vacuum, all light moves at the same speed.

[xsparkledovex]

otakujack

phasmaexmachina

otakujack

light DOES have mass and is affected by gravity. smile

Light has momentum and energy but no mass. Objects with mass can't travel at light speed.

momentum = velocity * mass. if something has momentum, it has mass. e=mc^2. energy has mass.

m=1/(1-(v^2/c^2))^1/2 => infinity when v=c; m is mass.
Light does not have mass.

edit: Argh that came out wrong.
I'm tired.
There's a point to it somewhere.

[otakujack]

phasmaexmachina

otakujack

momentum = velocity * mass. if something has momentum, it has mass. e=mc^2. energy has mass.

Momentum = velocity * mass only applies for objects that have mass so you can't use that argument here. For photons, momentum = planck's constant / wavelength.

Caffiend

If you seperate it red colors move slower than blue colors (if I remember the speed order correctly).

That only applies when light is moving in a medium and blue moves slower than red since blue has a higher index of refraction. In a vacuum, all light moves at the same speed.

if light has energy, light has mass. because you can express energy in terms of mass.

[otakujack]

oh, and here's something else to think about:

photons in a beam of light do not actually travel in the same straight direction as the beam. they take a jagged path. each photon travels at the speed of light. the overall speed of the beam is the speed of light as well. wrap your brains around that.

[Gavote]

bluewolfcub

Photons are massless. It's a fact.

...Then explain how they exert force! Light pressure is a proven phenomenon, and light sails (a proven technology) ride a combination of ionized solar winds and light pressure.