I've heard that because photons always travel at the speed of light they do not age. That is strange enough to think about, but I've been thinking about something even stranger lately. If I understand Lorentz contraction, anything that travels at light speed has no length in its direction of travel. So from an observers perspective wouldn't a photon effectivley be two dimensional? And how could it ever display its particle properties if this is true?
2006-12-26 03:54:33 · 3 answers · asked by gliss 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
A photon is three dimensional,its velocity is an aspect of its existence.
If it does not exist it has no velocity.
When it is emitted,it accelerates in the direction of emission for about one-thirty billionths of a second till it reaches "C"
The quantum effect allows this transition.
2006-12-26 06:09:10 · answer #1 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A photon is both a particle and something called a "wave packet" which means it is both a particle and an electromagnetic wave at the same time. Obviously, this makes it very hard to gauge the dimensional properties of a photon
2006-12-26 06:08:26 · answer #2 · answered by dalman99uk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
photons are not 2 dimensional
photons are not 3 dimensional
photons are, at least, 4 dimensional and, possibly, 6 dimensional
you might gain a better understanding of relativity by studying some tensor analysis
I believe you are confusing the manner in which something behaves with the space(s) in which it exists
2006-12-26 04:18:57 · answer #3 · answered by michaell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋