Light always wants to travel in a straight line

In summary, according to this conversation, light is always trying to move in a straight line, but the space around Earth is curved, so satellite paths will eventually intersect.
  • #1
UrbanXrisis
1,196
1
this was posted before, but I was told to put it in this section...

Light always wants to travel in a straight line, however, the space is curved around massive objects such as black holes, so it would seem as if the light was being bent as it traveled around the black hole. The space around the Earth is curved.. so satellies traveling along parallel paths can actually collide with eath other right?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
i think your right, there's this thing i read where you can see a star which is actually behind another bodies which should block it, but because space curves, the light of the star still reaches us.
 
  • #3
All Earth satellites travel in elliptic (usually close to circular) orbits with the Earth's center at a focus. Therefore these orbits will always lie in planes that intersect each other. The orbits will cross if they happen to be at the same distance from the center of the earth.
 
  • #4
UrbanXrisis said:
this was posted before, but I was told to put it in this section...

Light always wants to travel in a straight line, however, the space is curved around massive objects such as black holes, so it would seem as if the light was being bent as it traveled around the black hole. The space around the Earth is curved.. so satellies traveling along parallel paths can actually collide with eath other right?
1] The space in Earth's vicinity is only veeeerrrry slightly curved; Earth is not very massive. A beam of light passing Earth will be deflected by an amount almost to small to detect with the finest of instruments.
2] Satellites have paths that form 'great circles' around the Earth; there are no satellites that travel parallel to each other. Yes, they will collide (eventually) *IF* they are at the same altitude. It's pretty hard to do though. Space - even the space around Earth - is pretty big.
 
  • #5
yes, if they are at the same altitude, they will collide eventually. But can the collide if they are on parallel paths? Are you saying that the curvature is so small that they will not collide?
 
  • #6
UrbanXrisis said:
yes, if they are at the same altitude, they will collide eventually. But can the collide if they are on parallel paths? Are you saying that the curvature is so small that they will not collide?
What does it mean for two elliptical orbits to be "parallel"? Also, are you talking about the paths of their orbits through space, or the path of their worldlines through spacetime? General relativity doesn't say objects take the shortest path through curved space, it says they take the path through curved spacetime with the greatest proper time (time as measured by a clock that follows that path through spacetime).
 
  • #8
UrbanXrisis said:
paralle as in...
http://www-sop.inria.fr/coprin/logiciels/RP/Design/img17.gif
But it's not possible for orbits to be parallel like that. If you draw the orbits as ellipses, each ellipse should have one focus as the center of the earth, while the parallel ellipses you drew don't share either focus.

edit: Actually, I'm confused by what you mean when you posted that picture. There are four sets of ellipses there, in two different planes, one ellipse in each plane being drawn with a solid line and a smaller ellipse drawn with a dotted line inside. I thought you meant "parallel" like ellipses in different planes are parallel, but then you said something about dotted vs. solid lines, so maybe you want me to ignore the extra plane and just consider a dotted ellipse inside a solid one? Either way, it would be better if you could find a picture without the extraneous stuff...
 
Last edited:
  • #9
UrbanXrisis said:
Light always wants to travel in a straight line, ...
No. It wants to move on a geodesic. That's a worldline of extremal length. It is spacetime that is curved around a black hole, not simply space. The spatial portion of the worldline of light does bend.

..so satellies traveling along parallel paths can actually collide with eath other right?
No. They can't move on parallel paths if they are moving freely.

Pete
 

1. What is the concept of "light always wants to travel in a straight line"?

The concept of "light always wants to travel in a straight line" is known as the principle of rectilinear propagation. It states that light travels in a straight line in a uniform medium, unless it is forced to change its path by external factors such as refraction, reflection, or diffraction.

2. Why does light always travel in a straight line?

This is because light is an electromagnetic wave and follows the laws of optics, specifically the law of reflection and the law of refraction. These laws dictate that light will travel in a straight line unless it is acted upon by another force, such as passing through a different medium.

3. Is there ever a time when light does not travel in a straight line?

Yes, there are certain situations where light does not travel in a straight line. These include when it encounters a change in medium, such as passing through a prism or being reflected by a curved mirror. In these cases, the light is forced to change its path due to the different densities of the medium.

4. How does the principle of rectilinear propagation affect our daily lives?

The principle of rectilinear propagation is the basis for many everyday technologies, such as cameras, telescopes, and microscopes. It also allows us to see objects in their true form, as light travels in a straight line from the object to our eyes. Additionally, it is important in understanding how light behaves in different environments, such as in the atmosphere or in water.

5. Are there any exceptions to the principle of rectilinear propagation?

While the principle of rectilinear propagation holds true in most cases, there are some exceptions. In extreme conditions, such as near a black hole or in the presence of strong gravitational fields, light may not travel in a straight line. Additionally, in quantum mechanics, light is known to exhibit wave-particle duality, where it can behave as both a wave and a particle, which can affect its trajectory.

Similar threads

I Does Light Travel the Shortest Path in Curved Space-Time Around a Neutron Star?
    • Special and General Relativity
3
Replies
82
Views
2K
B Deep Space Speed Limit: What Prevents Exceeding Light Speed?
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
5
Views
1K
B Mechanics behind curved time causing gravitation/geodesics
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
27
Views
4K
I Does the Alcubierre drive shorten distances?
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
32
Views
783
B Time Travel Possibility with Two Black Holes Orbiting Each Other
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
14
Views
1K
I Questions regarding traveling speed in time and gravity as a force
    • Special and General Relativity
3
Replies
95
Views
4K
B Is there an inside to a Black Hole?
    • Special and General Relativity
2
Replies
63
Views
3K
B Trying to understand what "time" is (layperson)
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
21
Views
1K
I Speed of light around a (massive) object in space ...(i.e.sun
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
6
Views
887
I Why Stationary Masses Attract: Explaining GR Intuition
    • Special and General Relativity
Replies
9
Views
1K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top