Speed of Light question

[Harmon]

Something has been bugging me for a while.

If a Black Hole draws everyting into it, nothing can escape, not even light, and a beam of light is traveling towards the black hole at the SoL (d'uh) then does the Black Hole speed the light up beyond the SoL?

If it does speed light up beyond the speed of light then doesn't that mean that there is something that travels faster then the speed of light- that being anything traveling into a black hole?

 

[Thotas]

No. Primo Numero Uno fact of the universe we live in: light has one speed. It's a consequence of "Time" and "Space" being in reality one single, absolute entity called "space-time", which warps itself as needed to preserve that speed no matter what viewpoint you use to measure said speed.

 

[jgbrowning]

Light is a constant in a vacuum. Its speed varies in other mediums. Slower in air, and even slower in water... etc.. I believe it was even slowed down to 20 or so meters per second in some experiments.

joe b.

 

[der_kluge]

I think black holes warp space and time in their vicinity, so yes, I believe that the speed of light is accelerated.

 

[RangerWickett]

No, der kluge, that's not right.

A black hole does not pull things into it. Rather, its gravity causes the space around it to warp so that what an outside observer might perceive as a curve is actually a straight line. So, a beam of light passing within distance X of a black hole will take a straight path into the black hole, where X is dependent upon the actual gravity of the black hole.

Or at least, that's how I understand it.

 

[Harmon]

More to the question

We know that light bends when it comes near a great mass- say a distant star's light can have its position change to our perception if that light passes by a black hole or a star between here and there.

Would it be to much to think that light can be bent, could it not be slowed by the same force that bends it? Could that same force not alter its speed to go faster? Say the light speeds towards the massive star then slows as it passes then tries to pull away from that same star. Could that be true?

Could it be true that light is just the fastest think we can perceive?

I recall hearing once that a scientist stated flat that man would never surpass the speed of sound, the laws of physics would not allow. It was on one of those history shows about breaking the speed of sound. Of course we broke the speed of sound many times over, but it proves to me that our understanding of physics is pretty much at kindergarten level while the universe is running at beyond Doctoral level.

Just a thought that has been bothering my sleep.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I am sorry, RangerWickett.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I have heard that Time slows down as you move closer to a Black Hole.
At the Point (or whatever they call the actual implosion) Time comes to a standstill.

 

[fuindordm]

Light always travels at the speed c. Strong gravity will deflect it, but not change its speed.

Conservation of energy still applies, however. As light heads towards a massive object, it blueshifts--the wavelength gets shorter, and the energy in the light increases (just as the kinetic energy of a falling
object increases). As light heads away from a massive object, it redshifts and loses energy.

The issue of time is stickier.

From the perspective of someone sitting at a safe distance and watching, nothing unusual happens to an abject falling into a black hole. It crosses the event horizon, and 'plouf' goes away.

From the perspective of someone falling into a black hole, time does slow down, to the point that you never actually reach the surface of the black hole. The closer you get, the slower it gets, to the limit that time doesn't move at all at the actual surface. So it's also fair to say that nothing actually ever gets inside a black hole. Some physicists like this because in theory, all the stuff that's ever fallen into a black hole is still there squished all over its surface, so energy and information aren't getting destroyed and violating conservation laws.

Ben

 

[physicscarp]

The issue of time is stickier.

From the perspective of someone sitting at a safe distance and watching, nothing unusual happens to an abject falling into a black hole. It crosses the event horizon, and 'plouf' goes away.

From the perspective of someone falling into a black hole, time does slow down, to the point that you never actually reach the surface of the black hole. The closer you get, the slower it gets, to the limit that time doesn't move at all at the actual surface. So it's also fair to say that nothing actually ever gets inside a black hole. Some physicists like this because in theory, all the stuff that's ever fallen into a black hole is still there squished all over its surface, so energy and information aren't getting destroyed and violating conservation laws.

Ben

Isn't this the other way around?