this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
142 points (91.8% liked)

Showerthoughts

29728 readers
1385 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics
    1. NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
    2. Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
    3. Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct-----

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
vatlark@lemmy.world
forkball@lemmy.world
quinten@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world
142
Every star in the sky is interacting with you through gravity 🌌 We are all connected to the universe around us. (lemmy.world)
submitted 8 months ago by Jilanico@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
45 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Gravitational force is never truly zero. If it has mass, it is pulling at you, though it may be so close to zero that you don't realize it.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago (2 children)

A “photon” is basically just the universe producing a new field in response to an existing one, repeatedly. So photons travel through space in much the same way: they are absorbed and emitted by successive regions of space, with each region being the photon’s wavelength in size.

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's not really the same thing, as well as being afaik straight up wrong

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Can you describe exactly how it is wrong, or is it just a feeling? Are you not familiar with the structure of an electromagnetic wave?

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I'm familiar with the structure, but don't the electrical and magnetic waves smoothly translate across space? They aren't "absorbed and emitted by successive regions of space", right?

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If you graph the electric field strength along a photon’s flight path, there are points where it is zero. Same for the magnetic field strength.

The energy of the photon is transformed continuously between electric and magnetic field potential, and if you consider either of those signals the energy is coming into and going out of that medium repeatedly.

Because each of those non-zero periods of field potential happens in a particular spot in space (those fields don’t move; they grow and fade in sequence), I’m saying that region of space has absorbed the photon.

Of course, you know, particle wave duality. So in some ways they travel smoothly as well.

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Hmm, yeah makes sense

[–] LostXOR@fedia.io 3 points 8 months ago

I'm not smart enough to understand that, but I'll believe you. :D