Bending Light

[trisco]

When light is bent by gravity does it really bend or does it change direction by so many angles that it <i>appears</i> to bend?

 

[kmarinas86]

<font color="yellow">When light is bent by gravity does it really bend or does it change direction by so many angles that it appears to bend?</font><br /><br />The elecric and magnetic waves of a photon follow the curvature of the gravitational field. It appears that the electric and magnetic fields interact with the gravitational field. If photons have waves, the waves bend. If photons are just point particles (no volume), they just change direction. If they are any sort of wave, then they must have an area. In that case, it would appear that the area of the photon bends. The photon loses energy as it escapes a mass, and gains it back when it approaches another mass. Apparently, the energy in that field stays within that field and like energy is added back to the photon when it comes to another mass. The density of the photon's energy then is proportional to the gravitational potential energy and is thus proportional to the gravitational field density which is inversely proportional to the radius.<br /><br />Therefore, a gravitational field amplifies as electric and magnetic fields in the photon. An assymetric amplification of the photon would cause it to curve, like two wheels on a left side of a car, of the same circumference, which are spinning faster than the other two.

 

[rhodan]

Light doesn't get bend by gravity; gravity bends the fabric of the Universe (space-time) the photon travels through. Light has no mass (only virtual mass), so gravity doesn't affect it directly.

 

[Saiph]

there's a difference between those two possibilities?<br /><br />Doesn't have to be. Calculus uses such things all the time. Any shape can be created by the use of really thin slices, any curve by really small line segments...<br /><br />There really isn't a difference. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>