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View Full Version : Time Travel? Inconsistent Speed of Light?

budullewraagh
May 25th, 2004, 6:44 PM
Background:

Werner Heisenberg conducted an experiment where he captured a photon between two mirrors. He calculated the time it took for the photon to travel from one mirror to the other. He then moved the mirrors along the x and z axes so that the photon traveled a greater distance between the mirrors, and found that the photon took the same amount of time to travel between the mirrors.

Question:

Does this mean that the speed of light was increased?
Cap'n Refsmmat
May 25th, 2004, 7:10 PM
Thing is, how'd he do the calculation? And how far did he move the mirrors?

Details, please.
jordan
May 25th, 2004, 8:10 PM
A few things come to mind.

1) The distance he would have moved the mirror would be so minute that the change in the time interval would be hardly detectable. I would imagine a guy like Heisenberg would take this into consideration, though. He was the one with the uncertainty principle, right?

2) What were the x and z axis in his experimen? I would think only one axis would increase distance between the mirror and the other two would change their verticle and horizontal alignment.

And Tesseract, how many times have you been asked not to spam? Really, it doesn't help the thread.
Radical Edward
May 26th, 2004, 2:18 AM
I wonder if the OP is confused about one of Einstein's thought experiments? It sounds just like the classic light clock to me.
swansont
May 26th, 2004, 4:37 AM
I wonder if the OP is confused about one of Einstein's thought experiments? It sounds just like the classic light clock to me.

Or possibly a slight mangling of the rotating mirror method of calculating c.
7hor
June 5th, 2004, 1:29 AM
How accurately can we measure things now a days, couldn't imagine noticing a small distance changing the time with the speed of light :D Clocks are getting better though... :D
admiral_ju00
June 6th, 2004, 12:05 AM
not if you're using atomic clocs, and the speed of light is constant to all observers. it does not decrease or increase.
ydoaPs
July 27th, 2004, 1:50 PM
sounds like he was confused and thinking about the light clock. how would he follow one photon? for the experiment to work, it would have to be moved several kilometers.