Question about pulsars
Question about pulsars |
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Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : Question about pulsars
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OK, as I understand it pulsars spin at various high rates and when they are aligned just right the pulses can be detected by radio telescopes. The first one detected was believed at first to be the source of an ET signal. They are compared to the light generated in a lighthouse spinning at a regular interval. For comparison on a large spinning propeller attached to an aircraft motor it is possible for the tip to actually spin at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. So at a sufficient distance from a spinning pulsar is the beam of energy moving faster than the speed of light as it sweeps through 360 degrees of arc? | |
ID: 1293689 ·  | |
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I think that you are imagining the light beam as a solid thing. It isn't. It is composed of individual photons moving out from the source at the speed of light. The instant that it leaves the pulser each individual photon travels out straight, it doesn't swing through space like a prop spins on a hub. | |
| ID: 1293695 · | |
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Einstein@home, while the laser interferometers used to search for gravitational waves are being upgraded, is searching for pulsars in the data from Arecibo, Parkes (Australia) and Fermi gamma-ray satellite. It found about 50 new pulsars from the first 2 sources, while data from Fermi are not yet available. Each volunteer who happens to discover a pulsar with another volunteer is given a certificate. So far I got none. | |
| ID: 1293734 · | |
... So at a sufficient distance from a spinning pulsar is the beam of energy moving faster than the speed of light as it sweeps through 360 degrees of arc? Bob, According to Einstein, the answer to your question is No! According to Einstein, the beam of Energy is not travelling faster than the speed of light! According to Einstein's rules, if you think a beam of light appears to move faster than light, its an optical illusion. According to Einstein, nothing moves faster than light, full stop! Of coarse, personally myself, i disagree with almost everything Albert Einstein wrote. And there are many other people just like me that see flaws in Einsteins work. John. ____________    | |
| ID: 1293742 · | |
Of coarse, personally myself, i disagree with almost everything Albert Einstein wrote. And there are many other people just like me that see flaws in Einsteins work. You are in the minority then. | |
| ID: 1293750 · | |
According to Einstein, nothing moves faster than light, full stop! Not quite, nothing with mass moving through spacetime can be accelerated to 'c', and the speed of massless particles through a vaccum in spacetime is 'c'. 'c' is often termed the "speed of light" though the constant need not be the speed of light in a vacuum, if photons were discovered to have mass, it would not be possible for them to travel at the speed 'c'. 'c' was derived by Maxwell as a result of unifying electrical and magnetic phenomena. Einstein did not state whether spacetime itself could grow at speeds in excess of 'c'. ____________ I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...  | |
| ID: 1293775 · | |
... 'c' was derived by Maxwell as a result of unifying electrical and magnetic phenomena. According to our theory of a period of Hyperinflation during an early part of the Big Bang, possibly so. And still we expand... The equation there is brilliantly mind bending in implication and portent... ;-) Keep searchin', Martin ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3) | |
| ID: 1293819 · | |
Not directly related to pulsars, but perhaps a similar example which came up in my mind. It's all relative to the particular source/observer. Time/frequency shifts to keep the apparent speed of light constant relative to their frame of reference. Hence you see a Doppler shift. Keep searchin', Martin ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3) | |
| ID: 1293821 · | |
Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : Question about pulsars
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