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Author Topic: A question about theory of relativity?  (Read 584 times)
pokeguin5
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« on: July 15, 2011, 06:49:21 PM »

I was just thinking, its proven light in a vacuum is always constant and light is affected by gravity(Einstein proved light can bend due to gravity) . What will happen if I shoot a beam of light directly above my head on a planet without an atmosphere, shouldn't gravity slow it down, even if its in a vacuum?
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Choobeen
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« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2011, 07:24:04 PM »

The light bends because of the curvature of the space-time, if you shine the beam directly up from the surface, it will move on a line perpendicular to the planet's surface along which the curvature is zero. Hence, the light beam will actually not bend in this case. Since light is massless it won't be slowed down by the planet's gravitational attraction either.
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MidAtlantian2
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« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2011, 08:03:41 AM »

Sorry. Gravity does not bend light. It bends space-time, and light follows the lines of space-time. It may seem a technical difference, but it is more than that. Light has no mass, and is not affected, per se,  by gravitational fields.

Gravitational fields will distort (bend) space, and an observer will note that time has slowed down in a gravitational field. So it will appear that light has slowed down. But an observer IN that field will not observe any change.

We can observe relativistic gravitational effects near objects the size of our sun, not usually near smaller celestial bodies like planets, but there is still this effect, for any object with mass.
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A_square_E
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« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2011, 08:43:22 AM »

it does slow down, or does it???
Einstein said that speed of light is same in all frames of reference!!!
so what slows down in Gravity

its Time!
time slows down in gravity field
its a phenomenon called gravitational time dilation!!!

speed of light never changes, but our time passage rate does!!! ... and it has been proved!!!
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RH
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« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2011, 11:21:25 AM »

gravity doesn't' concert with vacuum.it mean maybe there is vacuum but because of planet there is gravity .
in any case gravity can't bend light. it make a curvition in space
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OzoneGuy
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« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2011, 12:27:45 PM »

Light follows the straightest possible path in spacetime.  Straighter even than the fastest material particle.  Gravity does not affect light, gravity affects what the light travels through.

The local speed of light will be proportional to the "clock rate" of the space that light propagates through.  The GPS satellites have a slightly faster "clock rate" that identical clocks on Earth.  So clock rate goes up, as you climb out of a gravitational potential well.

The light will speed up as it climbs out.  Always c locally, but faster than a surface dwellers light with each unit of height attained.

You may want to read about "Shapiro time delay" for more...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapiro_delay
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science_interest
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« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2011, 01:11:19 PM »

No, If you shoot a beam of light upwards from an atmoshpere'less planet, it will not slow down... Gravity does not slow down light,,,, gravity can only curve lights path, but the light continues at the same speed on that path anyway... Experimental data of moon distance measurements varify this. and Relativity, also the sun shoots light beams straight into the vacuum and those light beams do not slow down
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