Jump to content

Question: How do photons experience time?

Featured Replies

If it were possible to ride a photon, what would our perception of time be like? 

13 minutes ago, At_He_Na said:

If it were possible to ride a photon, what would our perception of time be like? 

A photon does not experience time nor distance. It can traverse the universe in an instant from its frame of reference.While that may sound on face value illogical, the secret lies in the notion that time and space are linked, and "c" is invariable or constant. Albert and SR tell us that The closer you get to "c" the less time passes for you  and distances get shorter. At "c" both time and distance reach zero.

 

One of our physicists maybe able to explain further.

Objects with mass are not allowed to reach c (light speed) because you end up with infinities of mass and energy to get there.

15 minutes ago, bangstrom said:

For light, emission and adsorption are simultaneous events.

I think you mean absorption. Light doesn't adsorb to anything.

And we really can't say this for sure, because we don't have the equations that say what happens. It seems to be what the solution is converging to in the limit of v approaching c, but those equations apply to massive particles.

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

Sign In Now

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.