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Bookmark or Share- How did Einstein know the speed of light was constant?When using the term 'the speed of light' it is sometimes necessary to make the distinction between its one-way speed and its two-way speed. The "one-way" speed of light , from a source to a detector, cannot be measured independently of a convention as to how to synchronize the clocks at the source and the detector.
- Would time freeze if you could travel at the speed of light?The question has no point because traveling with the speed of light means you have always been and always will be traveling with the speed of light. Of course from the viewpoint of an observer the speed of light is a defined number, but for a photon time is not a "thing". So overall it wouldn't freeze so much as stop existing.
- Why does wavelength change as light enters a different medium?The energy of the light is related to the frequency; when the light enters the medium there are interference patterns that cause the apperent speed of light to change; if the frequency changed, the energy would not be conserved. The wavelength changes to balance the change in speed.
- What makes the speed of lightning different to the speed of light?Electrons and light are very different. Light travels at the speed of light (at least it does in a vacuum. It travels slower in glass.) Electrons flow at whatever speed they are pushed. However, the forces between electrons travel at the speed of light. Suppose two electrons repel each other. If one electron moves, the other doesn't notice ...
- What is the relative speed of two near-light speed particles headed ...Classically we would add the speeds to get $1.8c$, which is obviously not allowed. In relativity you simply use the relativistic velocity addition formula:
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