Does the light travel to infinity or has to disappear somewhere?

Question

When the light from a star starts to travel from its source to its surrounding in space, does it go all directions in the same speed eternally? How can something keep the same speed forever?

Answer 1

Yes, light will travel infinitely in a direction, in a vacuum as long as nothing impedes its path. This is possible because light is a dual-nature phenomena, consisting of both particle-like and wave-like characteristics. Light, and all other electromagnetic sources of energy travel at the same speed, apprx. 186,000 miles per second, regardless of whether you are moving away from the source or toward it!

Light is just one part of a grand manifestation of an infinite, unseen, wholly connected web-like phenomena; and when finite human beings try to measure such a thing beyond our ken, we can only "understand" or "be conscious" of bits and pieces (particles) of this information. Hence, light to us, when measured, appears as individual photons.

So, to answer your question how something can keep the same speed forever..

Light can travel as at same speed forever because light does not travel in "space" as we conceive it. In fact it does not travel (move from point a to point b) at all.

Think of it like this:

Take a piece of string, grab both ends and tighten it. ----------------

That is light without energy.

Now, take that string and pluck it like a guitar. ~~~~~~~~~

That is light with energy.

You see the wave like patterns that appear? Do you understand how this string can "vibrate" and produce motion (energy) without the actual string moving from point A to point B?

As energy is transmitted or vibrated via the string, and the wave-like patterns make troughs and crests; each such trough and crest to the observer is “seen” as a particle of light.

We must remember that what we “see” is not always the end of the line. Sometimes nature just doesn’t care if we understand Her or not. But Nature also does not conceal, and all Her secrets are there in the open.

Answer 2

Light moves in straight lines from its source and travels for an indefinite period of time until it strikes some object or cloud of gas which blocks its passage. How far light travels is really unknown. But, Scientists and Astronomers have observed far distant galaxies out in space at distances up to 40 Billion Light Years, and that is really a long, long distance. So, consider that number for a while and maybe expand your thinking a little bit to include that concept. Note that the 40 Billion Light Year distance "is not" the end of space, that is about the limit of what we can "see" with our present level of optical and radio telescopes. As far as we know, space keeps right on going, and no end has ever been detected, or located. Many earthbound people do have problems visualizing something this large/vast/immense and toss out all kinds of doubting remarks. Those are the same people that keep demanding to know exactly how many stars there are in the Universe. No one knows. The number is really immense, and new stars are being born all the time, and others are in their death dance. So there are some things which just have no direct answer, and you must open your mind to this concept if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the Universe.

Answer 3

The light will indeed keep traveling to infinity, or until something absorbs it. And light isn't really "something" in the way we usually use that word. It is not material, and so is able to continue forever if unimpeded. Of course, even material objects will continue forever if unimpeded. This is really not an astronomy & space question, more of a physics one.

Answer 4

in a true vacuum, there should be nothing to oppose the light particles. They will travel until something else slows them down or stops them. Given the nature of our universe, there will likely be a multitude of other particles, including other light from neighboring stars, gravitational pull, and just plane matter which the light would collide into, be thrown off course by, or slowed down through.

Answer 5

Theoretically the photons emitted go on forever unless it degrades is destroyed by impact or stopped/diverted by a gravity source.

But on the other hand there becomes a point where it is undetectable due to background radiation.

Need to start brushing up on Quantum physics :)

Answer 6

Lorentz invariance demands lightspeed is finite. The magnetic permeablity and electric permittivity of vacuum through Maxewll's equations set lightspeed as viewed by inertial observers.

Change the properties of vacuum, change lightspeed - Scharnhorst effect. It doesn't reduce to practice,

http://arXiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0107091
http://arXiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0010055
Phys. Lett. B236 354 (1990)
Phys. Lett. B250 133 (1990)
J Phys A26 2037 (1993)
http://www.npl.washington.edu/AV/altvw43.html

Answer 7

i'm just guessing, but i suppose they would, except like with a flashlight, it would eventually fade until it was basically 'not there' and if your talking about stars, the galaxy is so vast that it is likely that there would be something that would distort the light or stop it altogether

Answer 8

The light travels in all the direction,but it fades after it travels a finite distance as light is a form of energy and it will end as it uses all its energy.

Answer 9

wow good ? you think it would fade like a flashlight