Is there any limit on how far light can travel -in a vaccuum that is.

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Light has no limit on how far it can travel in a vacuum, as it does not 'age' during its journey. Photons from the early universe, such as those from the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, demonstrate this principle. However, if dark energy causes space to expand at an accelerating rate, certain regions of the universe may become unreachable, akin to a black hole's event horizon. The wavelength of light does not change over time, meaning it does not require infinite time to be observed. Overall, light can theoretically travel indefinitely in a vacuum.
Tregg Smith
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Is there any limit on how far light can travel -in a vacuum that is.
 
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Hi Tregg! :wink:
Tregg Smith said:
Is there any limit on how far light can travel -in a vacuum that is.

Short answer: No. :smile:
 


No, light does not 'age' as it travels through the vacuum. We routinely detect photons emitted 380,000 years after the big bang [the CMBR].
 


Although there's no limit on the distance that light can travel, if some of the Dark Energy predictions are correct and space expansion is accelerating, there's a hypothetical stage where some parts of the universe are inaccessible from others-- Like the 'event horizon' of a black hole...
 


If light traveled for an infinite amount of time then would the wavelength not become infinite so that eventually you would need an infinite amount of time to "see" it?
 


No, there is no reason to think that the wavelength changes with time either.
 

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