🚀 go-pugleaf

c60a-av@amazon.Berkeley.EDU (Vann) writes:

>First off, let me disclaim myself as a lowly h7b student, i.e. electromag-
>netics.Any response please tone down too pregraduate level, please...

>If time dialates and lenghts contract in the reference frame approaching
>the speed of light, then what about in the reference frame _of_ _light_?
>Is light everywhere at once as lengths contract to zero in the limit and
>time dialates until it stops? Would be hard to think the lorentz equations
>break down. Is there a way to distinguish between reference frames if light
>is everywhere in its own frame? ...

>I must be missing something, right? I'm sure this has been rehashed 
>innumerable times... once more couldn't hurt, no?

One of the postulates of relativity is that is is impossible, or better stated, requires an infinite amount of energy to go as fast as light. Therefore, it is  impossible to switch to a reference frame of light. Secondly, another postulate of relativity is that the speed of light is the same in all inertial frames.    If somehow, we did manage to shift into the reference frame of light, this 
would mean that the speed of light is zero which violates the above postulate.

You are right when you say that the lorentz equations break down but that is 
because they are not designed for the above scenario.

Sanjay Sheth
sas52992@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
sas52992@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu (NeXT Mail)