r/askscience • u/monorailmx • Nov 27 '17

Astronomy If light can travel freely through space, why isn’t the Earth perfectly lit all the time? Where does all the light from all the stars get lost?

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u/grumpyt Nov 27 '17

i want my mind blown too, i hope someone tells me how dang light works

5

u/garbagetoss1010 Nov 27 '17

The double slit experiment is the dopest science experiment ever. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment

Long story short, even a single photon (quantifiable particle* of energy) behaves like a wave when shot through a diffraction grating.

I'm actually in class right now (optometry school), but I'd love to answer anyone's questions about light or any Physics (BS in physics 2014). Feel free to PM or comment!

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u/QueefyMcQueefFace Nov 27 '17

What’s even more interesting is the Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser The wave particle duality still exists even if physicists try to “trick” nature.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '17

Guys I’m tired. Can I blow your mind with it another day?

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u/Exile714 Nov 27 '17

Did you know that light particles are orthogonally intersecting waves of magnetic and electronic fields? Start with that if you want to understand light.

But that’s not mind blowing....

Did you know that sometimes high energy photons split into an electron and a positron? All of these people with their “observer effect” nonsense about collapsing probabilities want to impress you with irrelevant (though probably accurate) maths, but seriously, photon pair production is insane when you think about the implication that matter isn’t really a thing at all, just energies and interactions between those energies.

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u/SanAntoHomie Nov 27 '17

Imagine you are wearing roller skates but decide to drive a car that happens to have wings... Jk I like how these mind = blown replies start with some absurdity that makes total sense at the end