LIGHT SPEED

What is the speed of light?


From WikiPedia; 

The speed of light (meaning speed of light in vacuum), usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time. This speed is approximately 186,282 miles per second. It is the maximum speed at which all energy, matter, and information in the universe can travel. It is the speed of all massless particles and associated fields - including electromagnetic radiation such as light, in a vacuum, and it is predicted by theory to be the speed of gravity (that is, gravitational waves). Such particles and waves travel at c regardless of the motion of the source or the inertial frame of reference of the observer. In the theory of relativity, c interrelates space and time, and appears in the famous equation of mass–energy equivalence E = mc²

But what exactly is the speed of light?  Speed is defined as a vector component of distance divided by time. But relativity makes a mockery of that by saying that, in fact, space and time are defined by the speed of light.  


So maybe we should not call it the 'speed' of light.  


To two observers, one moving near the speed of light, odd things begin to happen. Relativity of simultaneity is the concept that simultaneity–whether two events occur at the same time–is not absolute, but depends on the observer's reference frame. According to the special theory of relativity, it is impossible to say in an absolute sense whether two events occur at the same time if those events are separated in space. This is way hard to comprehend, so I need pictures. Let's say Alex lives in a metal cylinder, a biosphere that is self sufficient for his needs. Alex is no dummy; even though he can't see out of his metal can, over the years he has developed analytic mathematical tools and sophisticated models of the universe. He has a working knowledge of relativity. Being the good scientist, he records detailed measurements of all unusual events. One day he records the time of a large electrical discharge at one end of his tin can, and a few seconds later another large discharge at the other end of his can.

From Alex's reference frame, these events are clearly separated in time and space (his can is very large). He happily concludes that one event followed the other in the sequencing of time. Shortly thereafter, he gets a telepathic message from Mark (this has never happened before, so it is quite exciting for Alex). Mark tells Alex that he saw Alex's ship pass by at a very high rate of speed (nearly light-speed!) and that a lightning discharge hit the front and back of Alex's ship - at the same time! Alex is amazed, but after working through the math he concludes that factoring in speed, time dilation, and space-time curvature, the two discharges did occur at the same time in Mark's reference frame. Accepting that Mark's reference frame is more valid because he is moving and Mark is not, Alex revises his records to show that the two events were simultaneous.



However, to Mark and Alex's chagrin, a higher life form, Dad, was watching from another reference frame. By Dad's observation, Mark is the one moving, while Alex's ship is standing still.  Dad is frustrated with the simpletons - clearly Alex was correct from the start and the two discharges were separated in time. Because Mark was moving, he saw them at the same time.




Of course, Dad may not be as advanced as he thinks he is and even more advanced beings are watching from different reference planes.  In fact, there are nearly an infinite number of reference frames available, and all are equally valid.  Now if Alex's ship is moving, and it happens to impact on Mark's planet, then those timelines will need to merge.  Neither will be the same reference frame as before, but after impact they will be the same.  Could that be considered a probability wave collapse on the macro scale?


There are some researchers that believe that is indeed what is happening at the quantum scale.  The elaborate relativistic dance done by elemental particles mean they often interact, creating the need to collapse reference frames.  The collapse of the timelines means lost information, leading to entropy.


Back to the Speed of light.  Maybe light has zero speed.  The reference frames start at zero and can grow to a level that complements entropy.  This concept is not new, and is very controversial, but it would hold an appeal in terms of strict definition.  Plus our science fictionists would not be tempted to break the light speed barrier if it was zero.  Mass requires space, space requires time, and time is defined by entropy.  The photon doesn't have that problem, it is essentially massless (contains only energy mass), and is very stable.  If we are able to leave them alone, and consider them an unmoving point particle, life gets easier.


Ah, but you say, these things move in relation to one another!  But with a nearly infinite number of reference frames, photons can coexist happily in different timelines and still be motionless.