If you could hitch a ride on a photon from the Sun to the Earth, would the trip appear instaneous?

Question

instantaneous

Ok I guess I left this slightly ambiguous, but I mean to the traveller, not the observer.

Answer 1

Yep, time for me on that photon would not pass because at light speed (c) delta time = 0. This comes from the Lorentz Transform L(v) = sqrt(1 - (v/c)^2) in t = t0/L(v) Thus, when v = c, we have t = t0/L(c) = t0/0 and t ---> infinity; where t0 is the passage of my time on that photon and t is that same time observed by my worried parents on Earth.

Thus we have t = inf = t0/L(c); so that L(c) = t0/inf = 0 or t0 = inf*0 = 0 and, for me on that photon, no time t0 passed at all.

Beware, the math is illustrative but not entirely correct. First, one cannot travel at light speed because there is not enough energy in the entire universe to accelerate a rest mass m0 to light speed. Why? Because the rest mass also approaches infinity as v --> c. And from a = f/m, think how much force (energy) you'd need to accelerate m --> infinity, nearly infinite inertial mass.

Second, infinity times anything is an indeterminate. Infinity * 0 is not really zero. But the argument can be made if we simply back off a bit and have v = slightly less than c. In which case t becomes a REALLY BIG passage of time (T), but not infinity. Thus, t0 = T * e where e is almost zero for L(v almost c).

For example, it can be shown that at v = 99.99999999999% of light speed, the passage of my time on the photon will be about t0 = .0002 seconds, given that a photon takes about 500 seconds (at 186,000 mps) as observed from outside the photon to travel from the Sun to Earth. If I add but one more 9 to get v = 99.999999999999%, t0 plummets to .00007 seconds elapsed as I ride that photon. Clearly, as we increase velocity towards light speed, my passage of time on the photon approaches zerio...instantaneous...even though from Earth that photon took more than 8 minutes to make the trip.

Answer 2

Whether you are standing still or you hitch a ride on a photon, the law is you must measure the speed of photon as C and only C.

It is against our common conception of speed, length and time.

We think that we are riding on a photon and also we must accept that the photon's speed as measured by us ( riding persons) must be C.

So we are compeled to accept that riding on a photon is not posssible even in a dream.

When we try to ride on a photon, we loose our concepts of mass, length and time.

Our mass becomes infinite, and the lenghth in the dirction of motion becomes zero , Time stands still,

With out time and length how can we say whether we have reached earth or not ?


Additions
‘Eye on the screen’ was correct up to the last para. But he has missed the question at the last para.

If one is moving with a speed of 99.99999999999999 % of light’s speed, then he looses his ride on the photon.
He is separated from the photon and he observes the speed of light (photon) as constant as C.

In his frame of reference time moves slowly.

The length is also contracted.

For his frame of reference, he is having his own idea for instantaneous.

“Don’t fear reap’ were traveling in that frame of reference; he will again post the question, “If you could hitch a ride on a photon from the Sun to the Earth, would the trip appear instaneous?”
“Instantaneous’ is different from simultaneous and photons are not having infinite speed to call any event connected with the motion of photon to be instantaneous.

Answer 3

You can't ride on a photon, because you have mass.

But if you could (i.e. if you consider the limit as v becomes c in the equations), then absolutely yes. In the limit as v->c, the distance between the Sun and Earth goes to zero as does the time required for the trip.

Answer 4

Photon travels at speed of light (3x10^8 m/s).. whats more?.. light is made of photons!..
If what you are asking is possible (we cannot travel at speed of light, or otherwise, our gut wolud be scattered all over the solar system), but nevertheless, if what you said happens, then yes. Time ceases to tick at the speed of light.
Einstein first told this, and we cannot prove it. For light, it would think (if it ever can!) that it travelled through the space so fast(almost in an instant), and if you happened to sit on the photon, and travelled with it, you would think the same thing. But if we happened to sit far-far away, and see light in it's journey (impossible coz light is invisible, but just think!).. we would have to sit for millions of years to see it complete it's journey ( I am talking about solar system to solar system journey. For sun and earth, it would take 8 minutes 23 seconds.).
Such is the bizzaireness of Relativity.

Answer 5

No, Einstein was quite clear about this ... time would appear as normal to you in your frame of reference, inside your space ship or whatever - BUT outside would appear very slowed down, and to anyone who could see your spaceship and look inside, you would appear slowed down also.

The best way I found to envision this is to remember that the speed of light is constant ... 186,000 miles per second ... so I you imagine yourself in a spaceship looking at a light clock ... a clock where the frequency is determined by light bouncing between two mirrors, to you the light is traveling straight between the mirrors, but to an outside observer, because you are moving so fast the light is really going much farther.

Since the distance the light is traveling is much farther, and the velocity is the same, d=rt, the only flexibility is in the time ... the time is actually dialated, more in faster moving frames of reference.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

To an observer on the sun or the earth, the trip would take about 8 minutes.

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Answer 7

Nope, takes about 8 minutes for the photons to get from the sun to earth. Look at the distance and the speed of light.

Answer 8

No, it would look like I'm going slightly less than the speed of light. It would take a little more than 8 minutes to get here.

Answer 9

Yup! Light speed travel takes no time for the traveler.

Answer 10

As a passenger it would take less time. See the twin paradox link.

It takes about 8.3 minutes I think. Light is not as fast as it was ha ha. My computer can run over 4000 CPU cycles in the time it takes a photon to go from San Francisco to New York.

The Sun is about 149 million km (93 million miles) from Earth. Light travels at the ridiculously fast speed of 300,000 km/sec (186,000 miles/sec).