What would you see if you travel at the speed of light?

[Nucleonics]

*comes streaking in naked* E=mc^2 is just a theory! wake up people!

:: Does a John Ashcroft and puts a robe around Pengwuino ::
:)

 

[Nucleonics]

It's about time...

One of the things I always see is a lot of confused "philosophy-minded" people trying to get a handle on the notion of "time", or whether it resides only inside the consciousness. And when one throws in words like "4th dimension" into the mix, it all leads to confusion. So I think it would help a lot of people if we explained the basis of time in SR and other areas of physics.

Now if only we had the time for all these misconceptions ;)

Nucleonics

P.S. Under Section 32.I.c of the Physics Forums guidelines, bad puns by newbies are tolerated.

 

[KingNothing]

I think one thing that is often not taken into effect in FAQs is that people want very basic, up-front answers. If that intrigues them, they will do more research on their own.

I know I'm not the only person here who's ever seen a five-paragraph answer to a fairly simple question and not read any of it. Fact is, it's intimidating. Perhaps some sort of "heres the short answer, click for the long answer" system would be useful.

 

[matthyaouw]

How about "Where's my avatar?" and "Why isn't my post count going up?" in PF Feedback and announcements.
I'd suggest "Why was my thread locked?" But since those guys don't seem to bother reading rules & guidelines as it is, I'd guess it would be useless...

 

[JasonRox]

"I was studying String Theory, and I got stuck, but I do know lots."

 

[DaveC426913]

Wouldn't it be so blue-shifted that it's completely out of our visual spectrum?

As stated:
"...considering all the light you received would be infinitely blue-shifted..."
So that'd be a yes.

 

[DaveC426913]

I think one thing that is often not taken into effect in FAQs is that people want very basic, up-front answers. If that intrigues them, they will do more research on their own.

I agree. What I think we need are "layman's" answers. No formulae and a minimum of technical terms.

I know I'm not the only person here who's ever seen a five-paragraph answer to a fairly simple question and not read any of it. Fact is, it's intimidating. Perhaps some sort of "heres the short answer, click for the long answer" system would be useful.

The trouble is that these are not "simple" questions. I think most answers would require at least five paragraphs. Much less will merely prompt a "Yah but" response.

 

[DaveC426913]

What would you see if you travel at the speed of light?

You would see the entire universe die of age ...

Oh duh. You weren't actually asking that question - you were submitting it.
Duh.

 

[marlon]

I think most answers would require at least five paragraphs. Much less will merely prompt a "Yah but" response.

Five very small paragraphs...Trust me, the answers will not be too long. This is one of the basic requirements of this FAQ.


Ya'll be baffled...Just hold on, we got some great stuff comin' up...

marlon

 

[ZapperZ]

The FAQ's for the Physics forums are up and running... or at least, it has been started. It lives in the General Physics forum.

Zz.

 

[inha]

The propagation of light in various media also seems to come up frequently. Maybe some of the resident CMP gurus could cover that? Maybe with a brief mention of polaritions since some doubt the abs/re-em.-picture, although with wrong reasons.

 

[ZapperZ]

The propagation of light in various media also seems to come up frequently. Maybe some of the resident CMP gurus could cover that? Maybe with a brief mention of polaritions since some doubt the abs/re-em.-picture, although with wrong reasons.

Would you like to volunteer?

:)

Zz.

 

[marlon]

The propagation of light in various media also seems to come up frequently. Maybe some of the resident CMP gurus could cover that? Maybe with a brief mention of polaritions since some doubt the abs/re-em.-picture, although with wrong reasons.

Great...You can start writing

Make sure you incorporate the discussion on the contradiction how light can "slow down" although photons have constant velocity equal to c. I think the analogy with the car (with constant velocity) and the three stopping lights explains this very well.

Good Luck

regards
marlon

 

[inha]

hah, I knew I should have put more emphasis on the word guru. Maybe I'll try to scrape something up.

 

[marlon]

Inha,

we are eager to read your contribution to the Physics FAQ... :)

we are veeeery eager...

regards
marlon

 

[Danger]

I've noticed in the Astro section an awful lot of questions based upon a misunderstanding of the expansion of the universe.

 

[marlon]

I've noticed in the Astro section an awful lot of questions based upon a misunderstanding of the expansion of the universe.

would you like to volunteer Danger ? :)

marlon

ps : let's tackle the questions mentioned in our list first. Perhaps later we can solve the more advanced cosmology questions. Hey, we might even create a cosmology FAQ in the appropriate subforum. But i do think we will be needing people like SpaceTiger, Pervect, Nereid on board...My knowledge of cosmology is both limited and a bit rusty to say the least

:)

 

[Danger]

I'm not qualified, Marlon, but otherwise I would. I realize that we weren't planning to add any more right now, but I was worried that I might forget to mention it later. That happens a lot.

 

[marlon]

I'm not qualified, Marlon, but otherwise I would. I realize that we weren't planning to add any more right now, but I was worried that I might forget to mention it later. That happens a lot.

Hey Danger, don't be so modest. I have read many of your posts and i liked both the message and the way in which you presented your message. You have a very clear way of writing and that is what we need. So far, i think there are not too many people working on this. So, if you feel like it, i would appreciate the fact that you write an answer to one of these questions. The answers are required to be understandable and , having read your posts, "writing crystal-clearly" is a quality you possess.

In short, please reconsider, please...you can pick any question or add one...:)

regards
marlon

 

[Danger]

Once again, Marlon, I think that you overestimate my abilities, but thank you. Okay, I'll take a shot at the hovercraft one.
As for the expansion thing that I mentioned, it would probably be best to just copy one of Space Tiger's beautifully crafted responses on the subject.
So, where do I submit the thing once I get done?

 

[marlon]

So, where do I submit the thing once I get done?

You have to mail it to ZapperZ. He handles all texts. I think he gave an email address here in this thread. Otherwise, just PM him to ask it.

Good Luck

regards
marlon

 

[Danger]

Thanks. It'll take a while, but I'll do my best.

 

[ZapperZ]

There have been no agreement or decision on FAQ's for other forums. I don't moderate them, so it will be presumptious of me to make any decision on those fourms. If you wish, you may contact the Astro Moderators in this matter.

Zz.

 

[Rade]

What would you see if you travel at the speed of light?

Be careful with this one--not such a crazy question. On page 118 of the 1973 book by the late Jacob Bronowski, "The Ascent of Man", you will find a picture of a boy, who asked the following question "What would the world look like if I rode on a beam of light" (Albert Einstein, age fourteen).. As stated by Bronowski, the genius of men like Einstein is that they ask transparent, innocent questions which turn out to have catastrophic answers.