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trendal
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When a star explodes, does the shock wave move faster than the local speed of light? If it does, what effects would this have?
A little explaining is in order...
While the actual speed of light does not change (c in a vacuum) the overall progression of light is greatly slowed down due to the conditions inside a star - I think it takes somewhere in the thousands of years for a photon originating in the core to make its way to the outside.
When a star explodes (supernova) it does so much faster than a thousand years - I think I've heard something on the order of a hundred minutes or so. So while the shock wave from the explosion moves at a much slower speed than c in a vacuum, it does move much faster than c in the star.
What effects would this have?
mods, please move this thread if it is in the wrong area!
A little explaining is in order...
While the actual speed of light does not change (c in a vacuum) the overall progression of light is greatly slowed down due to the conditions inside a star - I think it takes somewhere in the thousands of years for a photon originating in the core to make its way to the outside.
When a star explodes (supernova) it does so much faster than a thousand years - I think I've heard something on the order of a hundred minutes or so. So while the shock wave from the explosion moves at a much slower speed than c in a vacuum, it does move much faster than c in the star.
What effects would this have?
mods, please move this thread if it is in the wrong area!