PSI Blog 20180704 Inconstancy of the speed of light
Thanks to Captain Bligh for his question about the constancy of the speed
of light (SOL):
Upon entering a new medium (such as glass or
water), the speed and wavelength of light is reduced, although the frequency
remains unaltered.” -http://light.physics.auth.gr/enc/wavelength_en.html
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Remember
they teach us that frequency and wavelength are reciprocal. Right? This is not
the case according to this source. In a medium the SOL varies as does the
wavelength, but not the frequency.
Am
I missing something here?
[GB: You are right. I explained this in Chapter 14.2
of IUT.[1] Reciprocity
is drilled into our heads just like the slogan “There is no aether.” That is
why it seems such a shock when we first find out that SOL is not constant and
that SOL in water is only 225,000,000 m/s instead of the 300,000,000 m/s that
occurs in air. Another shock occurs when we find out that wavelengths decrease
in water, but that the frequency does not. Still another is the fact that red
light in air and red light in water has two different wavelengths (650 nm vs. 488
nm) but the same frequency. In other words, color is determined by frequency,
not wavelength. Incidentally, that is why distant galaxies with high redshifts
are not necessarily red.
Frequency is determined by the source of a wave. Thus,
if I am in a motionless boat and hit the water with my paddle once every
second, the frequency of those collisions will be 1/s (one per second). Nothing can change that. I could do it in a
lake filled with molasses—the frequency still would be 1/s. I could stand on
dry land and do the same—the frequency
still would be 1/s. In progressive physics we say that there
are no constants in nature, although frequency comes closest to being the only
exception. Frequency never changes because it represents an action that has
occurred in the past. Once my paddle collides with the medium, I cannot
“uncollide” it, in the same way you cannot undo what you did yesterday. Of
course, the production of perfect frequency is impossible. For instance, I
cannot hit my paddle at exactly one
second intervals. Due to causality, there always will be some
plus or minus variation. Remember also, as
we have seen with the Doppler Effect, that the measurement of frequency must
take into account the motion of the source, the motion of
the observer, and the rate at which the intervening medium conducts wave
motion.
BTW: The above lesson would have greatly aided Pound
and Rebka[2] in
interpreting their “gravitational redshift” experiment. They mistakenly
attributed their results to changes in frequency instead of changes in
wavelength. Keeping SOL constant, then required them to invoke “time dilation”
in their interpretation that light photons actually existed and were affected by gravitation.]
[1]
Borchardt, Glenn, 2017, Infinite Universe Theory: Berkeley, California,
Progressive Science Institute, 325 p. [http://go.glennborchardt.com/IUTebook].
[2]
Pound, R.V., and Rebka, G.A., 1960, Apparent Weight of Photons: Physical Review
Letters, v. 4, no. 7, p. 337-341. [http://go.glennborchardt.com/PR60].
IN Universal Oscillation Theory photons hit atoms, interact and carry on. They lose frequency in mediums denser than the fundamental field, but not SOL. It is fixed always. This does not mean that there is no instantaneous change in the FF, it is just that EM photons are fixed in velocity.
ReplyDeleteGlenn, very nice and compact explanation.
ReplyDeleteEd
From Steve:
ReplyDeleteHello Glenn,
That is really a good article on "frequency". I hope others appreciate these blogs as much as I do.
Regards,
Steve