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Old 10-08-2019, 11:47 PM  
pimpmaster9000
Too lazy to set a custom title
 
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Join Date: Dec 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Idigmygirls View Post
I feel compelled to respond only because I am a theoretical physicist (though I don't do a whole lot of that at the moment)...

A shadow is not an actual thing. It is the absence of light. More specifically, it is the area of a surface that is obstructed by an object that exists between it and a light source.

Understanding that, you should be able to see why your premise is incorrect. The light source generates photons that travel at the velocity of light. When a shadow is "cast" it means that some of the photons are blocked, while others are not blocked.

The unblocked photons arrive on the surface at the speed of light. The blocked photons do not arrive. This creates a shadow, which, by definition, is created by the photons that are not blocked. Since those photons travel at the velocity of light, the shadow is created by the absence of photons - at exactly the speed of light.

It is true that when the obstructing object is close to the light source, a distant shadow will appear larger than the obstruction; however, if the obstructing object moves, the shadow will not reflect that motion until the photons from the source have travelled to the surface. This happens at the speed of light.

All that to explain that a shadow does not "move" faster than the speed of light. Similarly, it does not transfer information or perform any activity that happens faster than light.
I feel compelled to respond only because I am a practical pimp, and I do a lot of that lately...

I already stated that a shadow is not a physical object, and I accept that it is a product of blocked light, light travels at the speed of light and is SLOWER than my ability to cast a shadow from one part of space to another...hence the title "faster than light"

here is my scientific drawing again:

---<. }

is me
---< is the flashlight
. is my finger
} is the night sky...
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