Does light continue to travel through space after its source is removed?

In summary, Ramesh Raskar's camera can take one trillion frames per second and film the progress of light through a bottle.
  • #1
k9b4
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Does light continue to travel through space after its source is removed?
 
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  • #4
Here's an easy but pretty good analogy: I throw a stone into a quiet pond. The ripples spread out in a circle, and they will keep on propagating long after the stone has sunk to the bottom and is no longer disturbing the surface of the water.
 
  • #5
k9b4 said:
Does light continue to travel through space after its source is removed?
Fortunately for astronomers, it does. :cool:
 
  • #6
It never looks back.
 
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  • #7
Yet it does reflect.
 
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  • #8
NascentOxygen said:
Yet it does reflect.
And it gives a wave as it goes past.
:D
 
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  • #9
and if not going past, it gives a standing wave.
 
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  • #10
Yes it does!
so probably, when you are observing a star thousands of lightyears away, you see how it looked thousands of years ago.

That start could be fizzled up, and dead, and you don't even know
 
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  • #13
. . . . the same as the familiar sampling scope technique, which uses picosecond sample pulses to plot the voltage variation in a repeated waveform. Even more than that, he seems to be saying that the process is repeated many times, to achieve a sufficient exposure at each position of the pulse. because the actual energy admitted in a single fs sample is so incredibly low. Fair dooz. It's still pretty clever and produces an interesting insight into the progress of the light through (and also back through) that bottle.
 

1. What is light and how does it travel through space?

Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that can travel through a vacuum. It is made up of particles called photons, which have both wave-like and particle-like properties. Light travels in a straight line at a constant speed of approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum.

2. Does light continue to travel through space after its source is removed?

Yes, light will continue to travel through space after its source is removed. This is because light is made up of photons, which have energy and momentum. Once emitted, these photons will continue to travel until they are absorbed or interact with other particles.

3. How far can light travel in space?

Light can travel indefinitely in space, as there is no medium to slow it down or absorb it. However, the intensity and direction of light may change as it encounters different objects or particles in space, such as planets, stars, or interstellar gas and dust.

4. Can light be affected by gravity or other forces in space?

Yes, light can be affected by gravity and other forces in space. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, gravity can bend the path of light, causing it to appear to be deflected when passing near massive objects. Light can also be affected by other forces such as magnetic fields or radiation pressure from stars.

5. How does the distance of an object from Earth affect the light we see?

The distance of an object from Earth affects the light we see in two ways. Firstly, the farther away an object is, the longer it takes for light to reach us. This means that we see objects as they were in the past, as light from distant objects takes time to travel to Earth. Secondly, the intensity of light decreases with distance, so objects that are farther away appear dimmer to us.

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