So I understand the basics of the general and special relativistic effects on the speed of the satellite clocks onboard the GPS satellites, and why they are rigged to calculate time slower than an atomic clock at sea level.
But then, in several articles, I read that GPS receivers are also...
Given that string theory is built on the idea of one-dimensional entities, which seems much too "nice" given the general fuzziness of interpreting quantum mechanics, would it be possible for a universal theory to be based on a non-integer number of dimensions? I basically know nothing of...
So I got to see an amazing Moon Halo the other night. My question is, what is really the diameter of the average location in the halo, where the light is bent by ice crystals? Is it really as easy as doing the trig with the altitude to your average cirrus cloud, the angle above the horizon...
And I am familiar with this equation. I guess what I fundamentally don't understand is what is happening to light as it passes through a medium, and why it slows down.
OK... Let me make this simple, since I still don't know what the answer is or if you have even explained it.
Say light travels at 0.9c through water, as measured from a stationary observer relative to the water. Will it travel at 0.9c through the water as measured by an observer moving 0.9c...
I couldn't find a solid answer there. Either that or I didn't understand the explanation. Is the speed of light only less in matter because it reflects back and forth, or are the fundamental characteristics of the wave itself changed to propogate more slowly? Or none of the above?
I know that the speed of light in a vacuum is always measured to be the same regardless of the observer's frame of reference. My question is, does the same apply to the speed of light as it travels through any non-vacuum medium? My gut feeling tells me yes, since its speed through the medium...