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himata4113 5 hours ago

What is even more crazy is that we can actually look as far as the beginning of the universe just because of how long it takes for particles from the other side of the universe to reach us.

ilt 5 hours ago | parent [-]

I’m not a science person but I think I understand the crux of what you’re saying here - have a question though: are those particles finite? And those are light particles, right? Is the number of those particles increasing the longer they travel?

Sorry if questions don’t make sense…

dotancohen 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Light is not a particle, nor is it a wave. However, under some circumstances it does behave like a particle - we even have a name for that (photon). However for purposes of this type of discussion - how it travels long distances - we need to look at the wave properties of light. The particle properties are more interaction-based.

Light moves at the speed of causality - C - so it does not experience time. Therefore light never changes. However, for distant extra-galactic objects, the space that the light is traveling through is expanding! Thus the wave property of light is stretched out as well. So what was once visible light is now so stretched out (in our reference frame) that our eyes can't detect it (that's why the night sky is black).

So yes, the light is finite. It itself experiences no change. The number of particles heading in our direction only changes when they encounter some types of mass, such as interstellar or intergalactic gad clouds.

If you want to know why light is not a particle (and also not a wave) check out the dual-slit experiments. Fascinating stuff.

Towaway69 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Philosophical speaking, I wonder what the folks will think of our theories of light, time and space in the not too distant future.

Much as the flat earth theories or the universe rotates around the earth, I suspect we don’t really get it yet and we’ll have other ideas in 300 years from now.

Just reading here about the theories of light, fundamentally we don’t understand what light truly is. Sure we have this theory and that idea, but these seem too complex and fragile to be really it - imho.

I mean no disrespect, and everyone can have their theories and opinions. But we shouldn’t forget the arrow of time continues and it’s still a long way to go.

ButlerianJihad 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Light moves at the speed of casualty - C

C is coulombs

And casualty is a dead person

taneq 43 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Actually C is for Cookie. :P

dotancohen 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Typo corrected, thank you!

tappaseater 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The commenter is referring to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Whilst most of the universe is a dark void, if you tune a radio to a certain frequency, there's a faint, static buzz in the microwave part of the spectrum. It is heard no matter which direction you point the dish. This is a left-over from the Big Bang and started out as light but due to the expansion of space, the wavelength has increased, and that's why it's now received in the microwave part of the spectrum. There are lots of great explainers on the CMB and the history of its discovery is entertaining too. One of the easier concepts in cosmology, and one of the most important.

ShinyLeftPad 2 hours ago | parent [-]

You don't get microwave radio frequency by increasing wavelength of light, it's the other way around.

_Microft 34 minutes ago | parent [-]

Microwaves do have much larger wavelengths than light.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum