I have begun to doubt the physics community more and more the last few weeks, which is as long as I've been involved in physics. I have not ran into one person who I believe completely understands--or can explain in physical terms--the main idea behind Special Relativity.
A couple of you seem to get most of it, but everyone is missing something regarding how light affects our notion of existence. It's not so much about the speed of light. Einstein probably thought that was a trivial number. He understood that is was faster than anything else--that was the key.
Look at it this way. When we open our eyes, the only reason we see matter is because it is illuminated. Therefore, that automatically explains that light is faster than anything else in the world. It doesn't matter how fast someone is going, if they are visually encountering matter, it means that light is still faster. It has nothing to do with the speed of light. He's talking about the nature of how light helps to create existence.
Why can't other people understand this? We cannot recognize our existence through a reference frame without some form of light, so how could anything ever be faster than light? The way people just harp on and on about the "speed of light" is ridiculous. You have to understand the impact of electromagnetism on existence to really grasp what Einstein is saying. This has more to do with optics than it does speed.
A couple of you seem to get most of it, but everyone is missing something regarding how light affects our notion of existence. It's not so much about the speed of light. Einstein probably thought that was a trivial number. He understood that is was faster than anything else--that was the key.
Look at it this way. When we open our eyes, the only reason we see matter is because it is illuminated. Therefore, that automatically explains that light is faster than anything else in the world. It doesn't matter how fast someone is going, if they are visually encountering matter, it means that light is still faster. It has nothing to do with the speed of light. He's talking about the nature of how light helps to create existence.
Why can't other people understand this? We cannot recognize our existence through a reference frame without some form of light, so how could anything ever be faster than light? The way people just harp on and on about the "speed of light" is ridiculous. You have to understand the impact of electromagnetism on existence to really grasp what Einstein is saying. This has more to do with optics than it does speed.
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Actually, there are quite a number of different things that e=mc2 explains. It explains matter, light, light speed and any number of other things. Its ALLOT more detailed than just "the speed of light." It teaches us about space/time, space curvature, black holes, Einstein-Rosen bridges (wormholes), etc.
The Theory of Relativity is a monumental discovery on par with the discovery of the Wheel. That's not an exaggeration.
The Theory of Relativity is a monumental discovery on par with the discovery of the Wheel. That's not an exaggeration.
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Ah, so people who disagree with you don't think. What wonderful arrogance. Go and learn how real science is done before you dismiss and entire branch of science you barely know anything about. Idiot.
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