Traveling at speed of light, and time.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the nature of time as it relates to light and photons, particularly in the context of traveling at the speed of light. Participants explore theoretical implications and conceptual understandings of time for massless particles versus massive particles.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that as objects approach the speed of light, time slows down for those objects, leading to questions about the temporal experience of light photons.
  • Others argue that light does not experience time, suggesting that it is nonsensical to discuss time in relation to photons.
  • One participant proposes a conceptualization of photons as static, timeless segments in spacetime, which avoids the complexities of motion and temporal progression.
  • A later reply reflects on the nature of photons and humorously references a historical anecdote related to Hilbert space, indicating a shared understanding of the timeless nature of photons.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that light does not experience time, but there is ongoing debate about the implications of this understanding and how to conceptualize the nature of photons in relation to spacetime.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the nature of time and spacetime that may not be universally accepted, and there are unresolved questions regarding the implications of mass and speed on the experience of time.

OrionVTOL
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It has been stated that as something approaches the speed of light, time slows down for that object.

Since light photons are traveling at the speed of light, does that make them even older?
 
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light does not experience time.
 
cragar said:
light does not experience time.

That's pretty much it. It doesn't even make sense to talk about time for a photon. Consider 'time' as something only massive particles have to deal with.
 
One way to think about photons is that they are a straight, static, timeless line segment joining two points in spacetime.

This avoids the tricky concept that they "start here", "stop there", and "go from here to there in between".
 
DaveC426913 said:
One way to think about photons is that they are a straight, static, timeless line segment joining two points in spacetime.

This avoids the tricky concept that they "start here", "stop there", and "go from here to there in between".

You're saying <a straight, static, timeless etc... I think we all agree on that. Although the way you put it, it reminded me of long time ago and a conference in Berlin where they were discussing the newly acquired <Hilbert space>. After a while Prof. Hilbert poked his elbow into his friend's ribs sitting next to him and said: <what are they talking about, what is this <hilbert-space> (maybe it is an old joke). If our photon could say his side of the story, it would say: <spacetime>? what is he talking about?
 

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