Search This Blog

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Does So

 The reason that this speed of light thing is difficult to understand is because it's counter intuitive.  I guess it can be proven with math but, math being my weak subject, I tried to make logical sense out of it using words, which is my strong subject.  If we accept the assertion that the speed of light is absolute and constant to all observers regardless of their position or state of motion, then the speed of time must be variable.  If the distance varies but the speed of light does not, and the light arrives at diverse points at the same time, then the speed of time must vary.  No other explanation makes sense. 

Another way to look at it is, as we approach the speed of light, time begins to slow down.  I suppose that, if we could travel at the speed of light, time would stand still for us.  We can't travel at the speed of light, but light can, which is why we call it the speed of light.  Therefore, from the light's perspective, time is standing still, if light even has a perspective, but I suppose it depends how you define "perspective".  Then there's the Beaglesonian Corollary, which states that time speeds up as a moving body slows down, which explains why time passes faster for old people than it does for young people.  Then there's the Cimrman Corollary, which states that, unlike the speed of light, the speed of darkness is variable.  This explains why the light overtakes the darkness in the morning while the darkness overtakes the light in the evening.  Again, no other explanation makes sense.  

Fun fact:  Einstein designated the letter "C" to represent the speed of light in honor of his friend Jara Cimrman, who provided Einstein with the inspiration to formulate his Theory of Relativity in the first place.

No comments:

Post a Comment