26a

 

Light Clock



Using the ideas developed at the other site www.laqu.bravepages.com and some issues discussed in the above web pages on this site consider this senerio.



Consider 2 trains 1 light second (186,000 miles 0r 300,000Km) apart moving exactly together at 600 MPH and each car 888 feet long. Motion is to the right when moving.
Light takes exactly one second to go to the top train and one second to return. The cars are always exactly opposite one another. In this depiction each same colored car stays opposites its partner of the same color.


At he brown car a 1/2 second of laser light is directed upwards to the top train. The light is shut off after 1/2 second. The red dot is a marker on the ground and is supposed to stay in the same place in the pictures. Here the light is going up and has just been shut off.


Here the light hits the pinkish car and hits a mirror on this car big enough to reflect all the laser beam. Note the red dot is where it was and the trains have moved. total time to get there                1 second.


Now the light bold is on its way back.  Heading for the green car. And the red ground marker.



Back to the green car where it is reflected back upwards.


On the way to the blue car.

Nearly back to the red car. each round trip an exact 2 seconds.

If the train were long enough this would be a perpetual light clock keeping exact time.l

But Wait


Consider that the laser is angled slightly in the direction of travel.  Compare that with a stationary situation.



Stationary position with the light going up in 1 second and back in 1 second.

Now get the trains moving.


1/2 second bolt of laser light from the pink car. Red dot is a spot on the ground.


Reflects from a mirror


Then back down to the pink car. Since the path of the light is now greater than 1 light second and since c is always the speed of light it must have taken longer for the light to make the round trip. consequently the time was diated. If light always mnoves at c then moving bodies are in a time dilation state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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