this post was submitted on 27 May 2024
676 points (96.7% liked)

Science Memes

10799 readers
2325 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.


Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

The photon perceives the entire journey as instantaneous. Individual photons always travel at C. The EM waves propagate slower in materials like glass and water, but the individual photons do not slow down. So the thickening atmosphere part of your story is technically a little off. The speed of light is slower but the photons are not. It has to do with waves interference patterns.

Skip to 5:15 in this video for a better explanation than I could ever give.

https://youtu.be/HZD4MR0KgqA?si=j1Q7PvXZHHXANewV