Groups > sci.physics.relativity > #461385

Re: Light and modern physics

From	Volney <volney@volney.invalid>
Newsgroups	sci.physics.relativity
Subject	Re: Light and modern physics
Date	2018-06-15 14:26 -0400
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<pg10bb$ol6$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	(5 earlier) <VA3UC.932588$MD7.629452@fx14.am4> <pfrji6$vrs$1@dont-email.me> <aLdUC.859856$yN1.701286@fx28.am4> <pfs195$c14$1@dont-email.me> <vIMUC.412286$6D.26742@fx19.am4>

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On 6/15/2018 6:40 AM, Keith Stein wrote:
> On 13/06/2018 22:11, Volney wrote:
>> You were discussing a very thin medium, with n=1.0000000000001 or 
>> something, perhaps. In theory, there could be electrons exceeding the 
>> speed of light in that medium if they had extreme energy. However, if 
>> n=1 (exactly), we have a perfect vacuum, and the speed of light is now 
>> c relative to all observers, and it is impossible to provide your 
>> electron with enough energy to have it move at the same speed as light 
>> (which is c).
> 
> So now it is clear what the difference between a very rare medium and
> a perfect vacuum is the difference between 0.0 m/s (exactly), and
> 3*10^8 m/s (nearly).
> 
> That's my point eh!

The extremeness in behavior is due to the extreme energy required for 
your 'second electron' to exist. The thinner the medium, the more 
energetic this electron would theoretically need to be to even have that 
behavior at all. At the limit, perfect vacuum, n=1, it is impossible 
since the electron would need infinite energy to reach c which cannot 
happen.

I am rethinking what I wrote. At a comparatively high density, the 
medium is essentially continuous, with many atoms per wavelength of 
light. In an extremely thin medium, a photon could travel many 
wavelengths before encountering an atom, then many more wavelengths 
before the next atom and so forth. In other words, definitely no longer 
continuous. Between the atoms, the light is in a perfect vacuum. This 
has more of an effect for photons of a very short wavelength, such as 
X-rays. In fact it has been mentioned in this group that X-rays have an 
extinction distance of billions of light-years while ordinary light has 
an extinction distance of a few light years. This may be due to this 
effect, X-ray photons travel at c between the occasional atom 
encountered while longer wavelengths may see the "vacuum" of space as 
more continuous.

Thread

Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 09:05 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-12 20:26 +0100
    Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-12 16:34 -0400
      Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-13 01:01 +0100
        Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-13 00:54 -0400
          Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-13 08:20 +0100
            Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-13 13:17 -0400
              Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-13 19:54 +0100
                Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-13 17:11 -0400
                Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-15 11:40 +0100
                Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-15 14:26 -0400
    Re: Light and modern physics mitchrae3323@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 15:51 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 13:37 -0700
    Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-13 08:31 +0100
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 13:41 -0700
    Re: Light and modern physics Steve BH <sbharris@gmail.com> - 2018-06-12 20:21 -0700
    Re: Light and modern physics John Gogo <jfgogo22@yahoo.com> - 2018-06-18 19:07 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 13:43 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 13:45 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 17:08 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-12 17:09 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 10:52 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 10:55 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 10:56 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 13:41 -0700
    Re: Light and modern physics Keith Stein <keithstein111@gmail.com> - 2018-06-13 22:03 +0100
      Re: Light and modern physics mitchrae3323@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 16:01 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 14:50 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 14:52 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-13 16:07 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-15 11:30 -0700
    Re: Light and modern physics Volney <volney@volney.invalid> - 2018-06-15 15:03 -0400
  Re: Light and modern physics furthermore7990662@gmail.com - 2018-06-15 13:21 -0700
  Re: Light and modern physics numbernumber1964@gmail.com - 2018-06-18 14:57 -0700

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