What is the true nature of light?

[Obvious Leo]

Because I'm talking about the speed of light, not about the speed of the observer.

It's got nothing to do with the speed of the observer. It's got to with the referential frame of the observer.

[Philosophy Explorer]

Because I'm talking about the speed of light, not about the speed of the observer.

It's got nothing to do with the speed of the observer. It's got to with the referential frame of the observer.

And I'm not talking about the referential frame of the observer.

PhilX

[surreptitious57]

Since the speed of light is a constant

This is false. When light is refracted through a prism or when it passes through mediums
that have different densities like air and water then it shall propagate at a slower speed
Only when it travels through the medium of space or of vacuum can it actually do so at c

[Obvious Leo]

Since the speed of light is a constant

This is false. When light is refracted through a prism or when it passes through mediums
that have different densities like air and water then it shall propagate at a slower speed
Only when it travels through the medium of space or of vacuum can it actually do so at c

There is also the small matter of gravity to take into consideration. Although a "gravitational field" cannot be described as a "medium", to a distant observer its affect on light transmission is precisely the same as if it were. Thus when a beam of light from a distant quasar passes through an intervening galaxy then RELATIVE TO THE OBSERVER HERE this beam of light slows down even though it is still observed to be a constant in the galaxy in question. This is because this speed can only be measured in the galaxy in question by using a clock in the galaxy in question and this clock ticks more slowly within this galaxy than it does in the intergalactic wilderness between galaxies. The observer observes this as bent light and this effect is no different from the bent stick in the water illusion we all remember from our high school days. Physics prefers to explain this phenomenon of gravitational lensing in terms of a "curved space" but the physicists have a well-deserved reputation for making their explanations incomprehensible. A "curved space" is a mathematical object and not a physical one.

[Philosophy Explorer]

Since the speed of light is a constant

This is false. When light is refracted through a prism or when it passes through mediums
that have different densities like air and water then it shall propagate at a slower speed
Only when it travels through the medium of space or of vacuum can it actually do so at c

You missed my opening sentence to this thread: "Light moves at a constant speed of about 186,000 miles/sec. in a vacuum."

PhilX

[surreptitious57]

Light does not require any thing to travel through since it can do so in vacuum

This can be another reason why light may be moving through another universe ( no aether )

That is possible but it can never be determined since light cannot travel between universes

[Philosophy Explorer]

Light does not require any thing to travel through since it can do so in vacuum

This can be another reason why light may be moving through another universe ( no aether )

That is possible but it can never be determined since light cannot travel between universes

Not even through a theoretical wormhole?

PhilX

[Obvious Leo]

Since the speed of light is a constant

This is false. When light is refracted through a prism or when it passes through mediums
that have different densities like air and water then it shall propagate at a slower speed
Only when it travels through the medium of space or of vacuum can it actually do so at c

You missed my opening sentence to this thread: "Light moves at a constant speed of about 186,000 miles/sec. in a vacuum."

PhilX

And although you're now ignoring it, you didn't miss my qualifying statement that this speed is as measured in the referential frame of the observer, which means as measured on the clock of the observer. This is simple relativity and a basic conclusion drawn from GR which any physics undergraduate would be expected to understand and it makes a shitload difference to the meaning of your statement. It means that if you decide to go and live in a black hole then EVERY SINGLE process in your body will slow down, including the sub-atomic particles whizzing around inside your body's atoms. It is these particles which absorb and emit energy which we perceive as light.

[Obvious Leo]

Not even through a theoretical wormhole?

Anything can travel through a theory, including logic. Nothing destroys a beautiful theory more comprehensively than a single inconvenient FACT.

[Philosophy Explorer]

Not even through a theoretical wormhole?

Anything can travel through a theory, including logic. Nothing destroys a beautiful theory more comprehensively than a single inconvenient FACT.

Such as B. Russell destroyed Frege's theory of (his) foundation of mathematics.

Philx