Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Relativistic SpaceTime Explained

http://www.unpronounceable.com/graphics/raytraces/spacetime3.jpg

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" by physicist Brian Greene* spends quite a bit of time in it's 1st 100 pages discussing a rotating bucket however on page 50 there is a gem.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/review/files/small.GREENE_The%20Fabric%20Of%20The%20Cosmos.jpg
to paraphrase:

EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW (you, me,the cat etc) is travelling through spacetime AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT. The faster your motion through space, the slower your motion through time.

So, if you are completely at rest (i.e. not on the surface of a planet rotating, revolving etc) then you are travelling THROUGH TIME AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

If you are a light beam, (travelling at the speed of light), then your SPEED THROUGH TIME STOPS COMPLETELY. Photons experience no time.

That is cool. Does that mean that "1 second per second" along the 'time' axis is equivalent to "c" (speed of light) through space? I'm hoping to find out.


*("Objection your Honor- That's Immaterial!")

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