Physics question: What keeps light from traveling faster than c? Granted it's a constant in our known universe and all that, but what counterforce keeps it from exceeding that speed?
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ThorThpot
ANSWERS: 3
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I would believe (since it is a wave/particle),a wave when you touch your finger to a still part of the water it continues out at a certain speed if the thickness of the solution is more (dense) then it travels slower(in a liquid like water or oil)but if the density is less like (thin oil)I believe it moves faster. thus sense a light beam manipulates the 4th dimension (called space fabric)that the fabric of that dimension has a certain density...hmmh wonder if we can see what the density is through the knowledge of the speed of light great question i'll reask that part of my answer on the boards. ps the 4th dimension is what is "warped" by the mass of an object thus gravity is a warping of this layer to produce our gravity from our earth.
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The speed at which light travels is defined by the permittivity of the material it is traveling through. This is a describes how that material reacts to a changing electric field. The permittivity of empty space is a constant, so far as we can measure. For light to travel at different speeds in different different places, there would have to be different kinds of empty space. And it is a fundamental assumption of physics that empty space is the same wherever you are. All material have a greater permittivity than free space, and therefore light travels slower through them than fee space. For something to have a lower permittivity than free space would imply that not only was it unaffected by changing charges itself, but it was capable of "desensitizing" the space in which it was embedded - which I find a strange and improbable concept.
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I think the maximum speed of light is an axiom of knowledge like, why gravity works. Maybe we'll find out some day but as of now I'm pretty sure the consensus is "it just is".
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