special relativity - time philosophy (1 Viewer)

[imnotkarl]

this was quoted from another thread

black holes might be a bit of a give away... and apparently that's happening the day after eng paper 2

edit: just re-read question as more philosophical than first taken

time is a measurement of... time passing? haha that's a bad explanation so NO we don't have a definite definition of time. time is more a human idea and restricted as such

yeah time is jus another measurment of distance between intervals, like the first 3 dimensions, time, as the fourth is used to give a mesurement of how long something is, only in different units. (if that makes any sense)

the thing i dont get is how the velocity of light 'C' is defined by distacne and time but neither distance or time are finite. So the only known constant is flawed.
and how can we measure the speed of light if we in fact are made up of light energy (e=mc^2). so if we are made of light energy, and that light energy is resonating in us at the speed of light,like all mass, the mater used to measure the speed of light would be limited to the speed of light.
so are there stages to the velocity of light?
well its all too confusing!
im sorry for scaring some of you.

 

[lionking1191]

this was quoted from another thread



yeah time is jus another measurment of distance between intervals, like the first 3 dimensions, time, as the fourth is used to give a mesurement of how long something is, only in different units. (if that makes any sense)

the thing i dont get is how the velocity of light 'C' is defined by distacne and time but neither distance or time are finite. So the only known constant is flawed.
and how can we measure the speed of light if we in fact are made up of light energy (e=mc^2). so if we are made of light energy, and that light energy is resonating in us at the speed of light,like all mass, the mater used to measure the speed of light would be limited to the speed of light.
so are there stages to the velocity of light?
well its all too confusing!
im sorry for scaring some of you.

firstly a constant is merely a constant. it is defined as a value which does not change under all applications/circumstances. einstein's THEORY of relativity is built upon the assumption that c is constant. note that this, like most scientific principles, is a theory. there is no way you can prove it absolutely but (refer to scientific method) known experimental results fit with this theory which is the reason why we subscribe to it.

secondly c is not defined by distance and/or time but rather distance and time is defined by speed of light. distance and time is relative - only c is constant

and your last point seems a little confused - we are NOT made out of photons of light. e=mc2 refers to rest energy, and it is a measure of energy (obviously). it does not mean we are all made out of light.