Hi peoples,
A little math question that should be relatively easy for you but difficult for a math illiterate such as myself.
I was going to draw some fancy diagrams but decided to pose my question verbally to begin with and if need be draw the diagrams later.
It is all about how light propagates as a spherical wave form from it'ss source and how that sphere of light waves impacts on a flat surface orthagonal to the vector of that wave.
OK, by way of explaining we have a sphere resting on a flat surface. The point of contact theoretically is an impossibly small point , assuming a perfect sphere and perfect surfaces of sphere and flat surface.
Now if we imagine the sphere penetrating the flat surface and we take a cross section of the sphere. The diameter of that cross section expands as the sphere penetrates.
The question is:
What is the relationship mathematically to the growth of the cross section to the velocity of the spheres penetration?
If we assume our sphere is a photonic wave hitting a flat surface it seems obvious that the reflected light on our surface rather rapidly expands as the photonic wave passes.
I would initially surmise that the orthagonal expansion would start from 'c' and reduce it's expansion rate immediately. In other words the reflection expansion rate is never at 'c' but always slowing from 'c', due to the nature of a sphere's impact point being impossible theoretically to measure.
But once contact has been made by our photonic wave the rate of expansion must start to slow from 'c'.
Do I need to draw some diagrams?
Am I correct in my assessment that reflection propogation across the surface is never 'c'?
What is the mathematical relationship to the velocity of the photonic sphere and the reflections propagation across the reflective surface?
Is there a better way of expressing the question?
The thinking:
When measuring the speed of light are we measuring the leading point of the photonic wave or are we measuring later aspects of the wave? How does the energy from the wave propagate through absorbtion within our flat surface?
When measuring the velocity of light could we be measuing the reflections propagation rate and not the velocity of the photonic wave itself?
Could the time lag in waves impact across the flat surface be some how fundamental to what energy is regarding space and time.
any help or discussion would be appreciated
