How Does Light Slow Down in a Medium, if Photons NEVER Do?

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  • čas přidán 13. 05. 2024
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    How Maxwell found speed of light: • Why is the speed of li...
    Why Isn't Speed of Light Infinite? • Why isn't the speed of...
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    CHAPTERS
    0:00 Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity
    1:23 Skillshare: How to make animation like this
    2:40 Why is the speed of light constant?
    4:30 Speed of light changes but not photons
    6:05 Why light seems to slow down
    8:39 Quantum Mechanical Description
    SUMMARY
    Why does the speed of light change in different media? or Does it? How photons always travel at the same speed, but the speed of light changes.
    In 1905 Einstein proposed the theory of special relativity. One of the postulates was that that speed of light is the same in a vacuum, the speed of light constant. But in other media, like water or glass, the speed of light changes. This is the reason we can see a bending effect when putting a straw in a glass of water, and the pattern of colors when light goes through a prism. But while the speed of light we perceive changes, the speed of the individual photons making up the light does NOT change.
    Why is the speed of light constant. One way to explain this is to look at Maxwell’s equations. It states that the speed of light is due to the properties of space time. Since these properties do not change, the speed does not change. This is the logic Einstein used to formulate his theory of special relativity.
    Any light traveling at an angle changes direction due to a change in its speed. So for example, when light travels from air into water, it slows down, causing it to continue to travel at a different angle, and this leads to refraction of the light which is the distortion that you see. But although the light that you perceive slows down, the photons making up the light are not slowing down at all.
    Light is an electromagnetic wave. Electromagnetic waves are composed of changing electric and magnetic fields. Changing electric fields induce magnetic fields and changing magnetic fields induce electric fields, and together they make electromagnetic waves. One quanta of such a wave is a photon.
    Unlike empty space, substances such as water and glass are made up of charged particles. Why charged? Well, they are made up of atoms, and atoms contain positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons.
    Charged particles are affected by changing electromagnetic fields. We also know from Maxwell, that the movement of electric charges creates an electromagnetic field of its own. Specifically the movement of electrons, creates photons. Photons are light, the movement of the electrons emits a light of its own.
    These are induced electromagnetic waves, and they are at various wavelengths. Most of these induced light waves cancel each other out, except the ones traveling in the same direction as the original light wave.
    Each of these induced light waves, which again are streams of photons, travel at the same speed, c. This is called their phase velocity. However, what we actually see with our eyes is not these individual waves of light, but a mixture or summed up wave of light. In other words, the induced light waves interact with the original undisturbed light wave that entered the substrate. Since the light waves are at different wavelengths, there is constructive and destructive interference in parts of this summed up mixture of light. And this summed up light wave in glass and water, it so happens travels slower, that is, LESS than c, the maximum speed of light.
    So the apparent speed of light, that is, what we see with our eyes, is the group velocity, or a summed up wave slower than c, even though all individual waves are traveling at the maximum speed. This is the reason that no acceleration or speeding up of individual photons occurs after the light leaves the substrate. In fact, the photons had been traveling at the same maximum speed the whole time.
    Quantum mechanical picture: In a nutshell, the summed up group velocity of light, in quantum mechanical terms, is due to the superposition of all the various paths that the undisturbed light can take and its interactions with all the atoms of the medium.
    #speedoflight
    The photon takes every possible path and interacts with every atom, and all the induced photons created. And what we see as a result is the superposition of these paths and interactions. These photons by following every possible path ends up interfering with itself and other photons in such a way that it creates the net effect of a wave that travels slower than the speed of light. The result is identical to the classical picture I described earlier, but the details are different.
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Komentáře • 753

  • @ArvinAsh
    @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci +32

    Learn how to make animations like in this video by using Skillshare! The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/arvinash07231

    • @ogi22
      @ogi22 Před 10 měsíci +3

      Very beautiful and succinct explanation how light speed is changing in a medium. And what i love the most about this one in particular, explanation about differences between classical and quantum mechanical approach.
      Thank you! 🥰
      Terry Pratchett - 'Y'know,' he said, 'it's very hard to talk quantum using a language originally designed to tell other monkeys where the ripe fruit is.'

    • @williamarnold9744
      @williamarnold9744 Před 10 měsíci +1

      Very nice explanations, both classical and quantum. Thank you.

    • @3zdayz
      @3zdayz Před 10 měsíci +1

      So I can make them wrong? Why would you keep showing a graph that has a maximum magnetic potential and maximum electric potential at the same time and zero at other times? You don't have both at the same time. You have electrostatic and electromagnetic. In a capacitor there's no magnetism in a inductor there's no capacitance. So the nature of the wave is never simultaneously magnetic and electric.

    • @3zdayz
      @3zdayz Před 10 měsíci

      I hit you inner too soon. I mean their legged by 90° one way or the other.

    • @ogi22
      @ogi22 Před 10 měsíci +1

      @@3zdayz I had the same thing too when i started to learn circuits😁 It's EM wave, not Volts-Amps graph in an oscillating circuit. Related, but two different things🙃

  • @jelliebird37
    @jelliebird37 Před 10 měsíci +28

    Arvin, I have had a lot of formal education in the sciences, and I have endlessly pursued understanding out of personal curiosity, and I have never seen anyone who can break things down and describe them in a way that makes them as meaningful as you do. In medicine, and similarly in other fields, the mantra of learning is “see one, do one, teach one”. When you can teach one, you actually understand. I want to thank you for being humble enough to be relatable. It’s easy to walk away from a genius, dazzled by the brilliance of things we can’t possibly understand. That’s what you get with ego. It’s *too* easy to walk away from someone actually understanding something they just taught us, and not appreciate their brilliance. You allow your viewers, your “students” to walk away with the ego you leave on the table, as if we’re the ones who just earned out newfound understanding. You are humbly, graciously, selflessly, *brilliant*. My goodness! Thank you!

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci +7

      Thank you so very much! Glad you enjoy these video. Your poetic eloquence is rare.

    • @algirdasltu1389
      @algirdasltu1389 Před 2 měsíci +1

      also floatheadphysics is great too

  • @aanchaallllllll
    @aanchaallllllll Před 8 měsíci +49

    0:12: 🔬 Einstein proposed the theory of relativity based on two postulates: the laws of physics are the same for every observer in a non-accelerating reference frame, and the speed of light in a vacuum is constant.
    2:48: 🔦 The speed of light is constant and the same for every observer due to the properties of the vacuum.
    5:33: 🌈 When light travels through a transparent medium like glass or water, the atoms in the medium are affected by the electromagnetic fields and start to move and vibrate, creating their own photons. These induced light waves interact with the original light wave, resulting in a slower apparent speed of light.
    8:22: 🔬 In quantum mechanics, the slower group velocity of light in a medium is due to the superposition of all possible paths and interactions with atoms.
    Recap by Tammy AI

  • @krwada
    @krwada Před 10 měsíci +54

    This is perhaps the very best explanation of group and phase velocity from a conceptual view. I wish I had seen a lecture like this in my younger days at university.
    Maybe you can also explain, (graphically), what happens when a charged particle goes faster through the medium than the phase velocity of light? This is the case where a particle of matter "appears" to go faster than the speed of light through a medium. (Cerenkov radiation)

    • @deadlyshizzno
      @deadlyshizzno Před 10 měsíci +2

      There's a great video on the PBS Be Smart channel about this exact subject

    • @krwada
      @krwada Před 10 měsíci

      @@deadlyshizzno Cerenkov radiation?

    • @deadlyshizzno
      @deadlyshizzno Před 10 měsíci +1

      @@krwada yup. I think it's titled something along the lines of "when matter moves faster than light"

    • @jelliebird37
      @jelliebird37 Před 10 měsíci +1

      I was thinking the same thing about Arvin: he fills in the key aspects of physics that would otherwise make physics impossible for people to understand.

    • @tedarcher9120
      @tedarcher9120 Před 10 měsíci +2

      It's a wrong explanation though

  • @kjblalark
    @kjblalark Před 10 měsíci +27

    I love your content as a 15 who is trying to study physics this channel helps me a lot

    • @SailboatAqua
      @SailboatAqua Před 10 měsíci +4

      @kjblalark awesome to hear! That's how I started! I'm 28 with a masters now. My advice for you is to take math classes seriously and make sure you are open to engineering. They make way more money!

    • @SuperYtc1
      @SuperYtc1 Před 10 měsíci

      @@SailboatAquanot all about money thought. And engineers don’t make way more, maybe a tiny bit more after tax. But with a physics degree you can do many things, even specialisation into engineering. I say this as someone with a math degree.

    • @hoseinayan942
      @hoseinayan942 Před 10 měsíci

      future scientist

    • @kjblalark
      @kjblalark Před 10 měsíci

      Thanks you guys for the support appreciate it

    • @msislam6751
      @msislam6751 Před 10 měsíci +1

      This reminds me of me being 15 yr old 3 yrs ago and finding the channel

  • @CaravaggioRoma
    @CaravaggioRoma Před 10 měsíci +21

    this is an amazing explanation of the difference between phase velocity and group velocity!

    • @CaravaggioRoma
      @CaravaggioRoma Před 10 měsíci

      @@parapsia em waves "lose" time by being absorbed and re-emitted in all directions. these causes distructive and constructive interference,... which is a slower process overall for the final "winner" to emerge wrt a straight ray of light. so i expect that, the denser the material, the slower the light.

    • @StephanBuchin
      @StephanBuchin Před 7 měsíci

      ​@@CaravaggioRoma- According to the interesting Fermilab channel video "Why does light slow down in water", absorptions and emissions is not the right explanation and his arguments are clear and solid 🙂

    • @tristanbedard643
      @tristanbedard643 Před 3 měsíci

      @@CaravaggioRoma what I’m wondering is how the phase light remains the same but the group velocity is slower and why it affects only the observer and not the actual speed

  • @hudsonurruttia
    @hudsonurruttia Před 10 měsíci +2

    I was so happy to see this video from you. I've been thinking about this since I finished physics II in my previous semester

  • @MA-hd4or
    @MA-hd4or Před 10 měsíci +5

    I really love the simplicity in this channel. It helps me comprehend very confusing topics. Keep it up...

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci +1

      Thank you. Happy to hear that!

    • @ferventheat
      @ferventheat Před 10 měsíci

      Yet simplicity can lead to error, misrepresentation and you come away with an inaccurate understanding of the concepts presented and those needed to understand how 'light slows down and speeds up.'

  • @FunkyDexter
    @FunkyDexter Před 10 měsíci +158

    A few things:
    1. The speed of light is not constant in general relativity, because gravitational fields are not inertial frames of reference. Locally observers still measure the same speed of light, but across larger distances they might see the speed change (it actually can assume ANY value depending on reference frame). GR supplanted the postulate "speed is constant" with "light travels on null geodesics".
    2. Photons only exist as part of field-matter interaction. The EM field itself can take on any value of energy. Just think about the field generated by an accelerating charge, it forms a continuous spectrum depending on acceleration, which is not quantized.
    3. There is a deep issue with your representation of the primary wave and the stimulated wave to show group and phase velocity (around the 8:00 minute mark): you're constantly talking about photons, but what you're showing here are two continuous waves interfering. Notice though how the resulting interference is comprised of wave packets (again, result of matter-field interaction).
    The description of phase velocity and group velocity makes sense if we're talking about continuous waves, but not if we're talking about quantized energy exchanges. I don't think you explain this clearly enough at the end of the video, you just talk about "quantum nature" without explaining how the difference arises.
    3.5 Another important issue with the group velocity picture is that it only appears when the two interfering waves travel at different speeds. You kind of swept it under the rug first showing the two waves traveling at the same speed with a phase difference at 7:20, then you sneakily made them move at different speeds at 7:30. So even if the incident waves were to travel at c even inside the medium, the stimulated wave would not. So which is it?
    If you look up the definition of refractive index, you find that it is the ratio between c (speed of light) and the PHASE velocity (not group velocity). I.e., the speed of light is different.
    4. If we want to use the photon description, we need to use another reasoning. The real reason photons are quantized entitities is not that they contain a minimum amount of energy (well, they do, but this is a result of another property): they have quantized angular momentum, hbar. This is a direct result of emission from matter: the difference between adjacent levels of the quantum number of angular momentum in atoms (ml) is exactly hbar.
    Since the "wavepacket" is restricted by moving at the speed of light in a vacuum and the angular momentum must always be hbar, the result is the famous relationship E=hf. Note that f can take on ANY value.
    5. In a semi-classical way, we can assign an "effective radius" of the photon to account for the angular momentum (according to L=mvr, with m being the effective mass of the photon E/c^2). The angular momentum applies a torque on charged matter in a medium, which in turn acts to reduce the angular momentum by an amount hbar/n^2, where n is the refractive index. The effective radius though is the same as in free space: the only way for this to happen to conserve energy is for c to be smaller.
    On this point I reference the papers by Loudon, Padgett et al., and Mansuripur.
    6. Related to the above, Maxwell equations are very clear: c changes because mu0 and e0 are not those of a vacuum anymore.

    • @TimothyShevgun
      @TimothyShevgun Před 10 měsíci +16

      @FunkyDexter, I mostly agree with all your remarks, especially with the last one about Maxwell's equations.
      I am not sure whether it is reasonable to exploit the concept of the photons for the basic level explanation, or it would be well enough to rely on the wave nature of the light here. I suppose that some simplified explanation for wide audience can be made up via some simiriaty of permeability and permittivity to some viscousity. The larger the viscousity is, the more time it will require to make a 'wave splash' in it.
      Unfortunately, this video presents the wrong explanation for the original question. In pursuit of oversimplification, the authors have come to a complete mess.
      Basically, the concept of the difference between phase and group velocity is described inaccurately with rather an unclear example. What is more, this concept is not a proper explanation for the initial question. As a matter of fact, the PHASE velocity of the light in a medium is smaller than in vacuum.
      The quantity that remains the same in any medium and vacuum is the FREQUENCY while the speed and wavelength will change, the relation is as simple as c=f*λ.

    • @davidrandell2224
      @davidrandell2224 Před 10 měsíci

      Light is a cluster of expanding electrons. “The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy “, Mark McCutcheon for proper physics.

    • @FunkyDexter
      @FunkyDexter Před 10 měsíci +21

      @@davidrandell2224 Sorry, that book makes very little sense. It's unfortunately very lacking both in mathematics and basic physics.

    • @davidrandell2224
      @davidrandell2224 Před 10 měsíci

      @@FunkyDexter A proton is a collection of 1836 expanding electrons and add a bouncing expanding electron makes a hydrogen atom. Electron mass (9.11)) multiplied by 1836 equals the proton mass (1.67). “G” calculated from first principles- the hydrogen atom- in 2002. All atoms and atomic objects are expanding at 1/770,000th their size per second per second constant acceleration: gravity; d=1/2at^2 major part of the gravity equation ( Atomic Expansion Equation, page 107). Gravity is simple Galilean relative motion with the chances that the earth is approaching the released object being 1 out of 2, I.e. 50%. Yet this simple fact- even as a “ thought experiment “- exceeds human brain power. SR wrong due to reference frame mixing and bad math. GR as well.

    • @vaclavkrpec2879
      @vaclavkrpec2879 Před 10 měsíci +6

      Thank you! This makes more sense indeed. Especially your 3rd point; the explanation by group velocity didn't make much sense to me---I asked "but in a medium, an impulse of light reaches distant detector _later_ than at the same distance in vacuum, right?" That difference doesn't really depend on wavelength in any way; so the explanation using wave interference doesn't seem to work...
      I also find your 5th point (explanation based on conservation of energy) a lot clearer than Arvin's explanation.

  • @philosophiabme
    @philosophiabme Před 10 měsíci +9

    Great video! I always wondered about this but never thought to look into it until now.
    It always bugged me to say that “light slows down” for some reason.

  • @bnjm8868
    @bnjm8868 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Thank you Arvid for your research and hard work. You never disappoint. This was very informative with eye-opening details. Great video, indeed! 😃

  • @onebylandtwoifbysearunifby5475
    @onebylandtwoifbysearunifby5475 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Great explanations and visuals, as per your usual efforts. Clear and clean descriptions.

  • @tborabta
    @tborabta Před 10 měsíci +1

    Your explanation was absolutely mind-blowing! Introducing quantum mechanics alongside these phenomena has left me astounded. Thank you immensely!

  • @ryancormack6934
    @ryancormack6934 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Fascinating video. I've wondered about this question. Well done!

  • @DanteGabriel-lx9bq
    @DanteGabriel-lx9bq Před 10 měsíci +224

    This actually happens in biology too. You see chlorophyll, the organelles produced by photosyntheic plants, are quantum! That's because plants capture light to make photosynthesis happen. To make this; the anatomy of the plant needs to compensate for the multitude of roads light can take, and photosynthetic plants are extremely efficent at capturing light, because inside of them they have every road light can take, and thos they capture light at 11% efficiency, which can vary depending on wavelength, which is approximately around 400-700nm. Nature is always one step ahead.

    • @4or871
      @4or871 Před 10 měsíci +4

      photosynthesis has an extreme high ratio between fotons which cause photosynthesis and which not. Seems to come through superposition of the photon, always a superposition possibility knows the right way. So 1 Qbit can determine all outcomes? not just for 0 and 1?

    • @DanteGabriel-lx9bq
      @DanteGabriel-lx9bq Před 10 měsíci +14

      ​@4or871 I'm not really the expert in this, I study chemistry, so I don't really know.

    • @lukebyer2592
      @lukebyer2592 Před 10 měsíci +47

      The following is a breakdown of the energetics of the photosynthesis process from Photosynthesis by Hall and Rao:[6]
      Starting with the solar spectrum falling on a leaf,
      47% lost due to photons outside the 400-700 nm active range (chlorophyll uses photons between 400 and 700 nm, extracting the energy of one 700 nm photon from each one)
      30% of the in-band photons are lost due to incomplete absorption or photons hitting components other than chloroplasts
      24% of the absorbed photon energy is lost due to degrading short wavelength photons to the 700 nm energy level
      68% of the used energy is lost in conversion into d-glucose
      35-45% of the glucose is consumed by the leaf in the processes of dark and photo respiration

    • @hmu958
      @hmu958 Před 10 měsíci +3

      I've had it explained that it's entanglement of the metal ions, atoms, in the electron chain

    • @erikwislinsky5961
      @erikwislinsky5961 Před 10 měsíci +4

      @@lukebyer2592that’s one hell of an in-depth comment. Props. Now I’m really curious about exactly how each wavelength makes it’s way.

  • @Tigrayspells-
    @Tigrayspells- Před 8 měsíci

    if you understand it well, you explain it easily....what a great man !!! ARVIN🙏

  • @whitehorse1959
    @whitehorse1959 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Thank you for adding the quantum explanation at the end. It makes more sense to me. 😎👍🏼

  • @ultravioletdream
    @ultravioletdream Před 10 měsíci +1

    So happy to to discover you Arvin :-) Keep up the awesome work you're doing.

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      Thank you. Welcome aboard!

  • @9126786
    @9126786 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Wow. Dear Arvin Ash, thanks for sharing this beautiful video. I avidly follow almost all of your videos. They sum up are such a great learning. 🎉

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      Thank you. Glad you find them useful.

  • @MxGrr
    @MxGrr Před 10 měsíci +1

    This video is so good. Great explanation, master Arvin.

  • @ScienceAsylum
    @ScienceAsylum Před 9 měsíci +3

    Great video Arvin! You explained the difference between group and phase velocity well 👍

    • @bili4591
      @bili4591 Před 9 měsíci

      hey 👍, please continue doing accurate video like everytime

  • @chelseastarr9405
    @chelseastarr9405 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Great explanation! I wish I had seen this when I took a guided wave optics class in university!

  • @apple1231230
    @apple1231230 Před 10 měsíci +5

    we have ways to "slow down" light to very slow speeds. this makes me wonder if you could surround spacecraft in a similar such material that would super distort the incoming light in a kind of camouflage. alien tech no doubt, but an interesting thought

  • @fredcunningham9753
    @fredcunningham9753 Před 9 měsíci +4

    Thank you Arvin, you are the man. Your videos are super digestible and help me understand physics. I love it

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 9 měsíci +1

      Thank you. Glad you like them!

  • @meesalikeu
    @meesalikeu Před 10 měsíci +1

    thanks doc ash i always wondered about this. i actually get it both classically and quantum because of your clear, concise and i should add not trivially, patient lol presentation for us.

  • @alexalekos
    @alexalekos Před 10 měsíci

    thanks for that vid arvin, I was wondering this exact thing last week

  • @emergentform1188
    @emergentform1188 Před 10 měsíci

    Fantastic stuff, I've always wondered about this, Hooray Arvin much love!

  • @dvalentino7492
    @dvalentino7492 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Thank you this is been keeping me up at night

  • @feelingzhakkaas
    @feelingzhakkaas Před 10 měsíci +2

    Absolutely wonderful video with simple explaining

  • @jamesraymond1158
    @jamesraymond1158 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Excellent, as usual. At first I was puzzled by "Or Does It?" It seems that in one sense, it doesn't slow down, it's just that the interference the light induces makes it appear to slow down. They never taught me that in optics class in the 1960s.

    • @FunkyDexter
      @FunkyDexter Před 10 měsíci +3

      They didn't teach you that because it's wrong... Group velocity is only different if the phase velocity of the two interfering waves is different. As you can see at 7:30, Arvin sneakily made the two waves move at different speeds to get the result he wanted. So the incident wave goes at c, but the stimulated wave doesn't? Makes no sense.
      The explanation is as simple as "e0 and mu0 are not those of a vacuum anymore, hence the speed of light is different".
      Just look up the definition of refraction index: it's the ratio between c and the phase velocity inside the medium. Not group velocity.

    • @axtxt
      @axtxt Před 10 měsíci +1

      yup arvins explanation is wrong

  • @Rationalific
    @Rationalific Před 10 měsíci

    Incredibly fascinating! Thank you for not dumbing things down for us! You went two levels over what most would teach as fact. Most say that light slows down in a medium. Then, we learned the classical reason why light only appears to slow down. Finally, we learned the actual quantum mechanical reason. And although these things are hard to fathom, I appreciate your clear explanations with useful illustrations!
    By the way, I may be totally off base here, but seeing as how it seems that with interactions, everything that can happen does happen, I wonder if this can have some relationship with the "Many Worlds" hypothesis... It's easier to see how these worlds could recombine in this case, but the seemingly random nature of a single particle in the double-slit experiment makes it kind of seem like in that case, the worlds don't combine again and we just see one result, and the other worlds (not in other dimensions of space or time, but in other dimensions of probability) see all of the other results (one in each dimension) as we see ours... I wonder if there is anything to that...

    • @cloudpoint0
      @cloudpoint0 Před 10 měsíci

      He skipped "Signal Velocity".

  • @jonathanreynolds2625
    @jonathanreynolds2625 Před 10 měsíci +3

    The number of nights I have stayed awake trying to figure out what scientists have meant by this has been immense. Thank you for helping me better understand this.

  • @jesusbermudez6775
    @jesusbermudez6775 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Thank you for these explanations of the velocity of light and why it slows down in a medium.

  • @Bassotronics
    @Bassotronics Před 10 měsíci +16

    In the quantum mechanical sense, the ability for light to take all possible paths while going the speed it does is actually frightening.

    • @daber6948
      @daber6948 Před 10 měsíci +4

      Actually, every quantum particle has this property and by taking integral over all paths while using only classical mechanics you can derive quantum mechanics from the base. That approach is fascinating

    • @jgunther3398
      @jgunther3398 Před 10 měsíci +1

      @@7thD_JAILBREAK108 i think you mean instantaneous, not spontaneous

    • @7thD_JAILBREAK108
      @7thD_JAILBREAK108 Před 10 měsíci +1

      @@jgunther3398 indeed , am not English that is why, yeah I really meant instantaneous

    • @anywallsocket
      @anywallsocket Před 10 měsíci

      @@7thD_JAILBREAK108even instantaneous is misleading, it implies light is not affected by the properties of spacetime between emission and adsorption.

    • @anywallsocket
      @anywallsocket Před 10 měsíci

      @@daber6948you can derive CM from QM using Feynman’s path integral formulation up to Lagrangian dynamics, not the other way around.

  • @suyapajimenez516
    @suyapajimenez516 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Thank Arvin for your great effort you put in educate the commons😂.
    I have to play the video several times to understand ( I was in the business of medicine, now retired) but I did it.
    By now I’m used to the weirdness of the quantum world but always surprises me.
    🙏🏻❤️

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      My pleasure. Glad it was helpful!

  • @HqBlays
    @HqBlays Před 10 měsíci +1

    Im a 14 years old kid and I love your vids, specially the ones about quantumn mechanics and the QFT, keep the good work!

  • @001firebrand
    @001firebrand Před 10 měsíci

    I've been wondering about this issue since I was a 2nd term student. Thanks again, Dr. Ash!

  • @KaushikAdhikari
    @KaushikAdhikari Před 10 měsíci +5

    This is extremely informative ❤

  • @user-pu9qe1nn2r
    @user-pu9qe1nn2r Před 10 měsíci +2

    Finally someone who explains in such a leymann way...thanks 2 u sir...As the story goes, I asked the same question to my teacher & he deliberately confused the whole thing ending up with nothing...
    In the next video, plz make the video on "WHY EVERYTHING, Even LIGHT follows CAUSALITY, that it's not The Speed of Light but The Speed of CAUSALITY???" PLZ MAKE A VIDEO ON THIS(I SAW A VIDEO OF PBS BUT BUT DIDN'T CATCH UP)

  • @mattmcmillan3573
    @mattmcmillan3573 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Great video! Thanks Arvin!

  • @dr.gayfirstlookmri
    @dr.gayfirstlookmri Před 10 měsíci +1

    Wow! Excellent video yet again. Thank you for enlightening us on this super interesting topic.

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      Correct, both are incomplete. But, QM explains many more phenomena, is extremely accurate in making predictions, and is very well documented. Even Einstein felt that GR, which uses geometry to explain gravity, was a stopgap explanation.

  • @borahsilver478
    @borahsilver478 Před 10 měsíci

    I love the intro music to your videos. Is there a full version I could download, listen to at the gym. "Can I do 30 minutes on the treadmill? The answer to that is coming up right now!" lol.

  • @leniterfortis4832
    @leniterfortis4832 Před 10 měsíci

    I was JUST asking myself this a few days ago. Thank you for the explanation.

  • @SantoshKumar-py4er
    @SantoshKumar-py4er Před 10 měsíci

    Brilliant Explanation, as always !😊

  • @rezenpm
    @rezenpm Před 10 měsíci

    Mind blowing and enlightening. Thank you for giving me a better understanding how nature works.

  • @agressivepandit
    @agressivepandit Před 10 měsíci +1

    sir, information given by you is jist awesome
    #respect

  • @joeblow6865
    @joeblow6865 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Arvin, I love your content!!!

  • @christianfaust5141
    @christianfaust5141 Před 10 měsíci

    Absolutly great, when I learned during my studies in electro optics that the phase velocity is given by c but the group velocity is slower than c in the medium I had always the problem to understand why we have the occurrence of the group velocity. It's the interference between incoming wave and the wave created by stimulated electrons with slightly different frequency. The quantum mechanic explanation is really weirder but quantum mechanics is about probability and what we see is the most likely path of all possible paths.

  • @AbhishekKumar-vc8yi
    @AbhishekKumar-vc8yi Před 10 měsíci +6

    Hi...I have a doubt. Why doesn't the photon do the same(following all possible path) in vacuum. Why is this superposition of paths happening only in a medium?

    • @edwardjenner1381
      @edwardjenner1381 Před 10 měsíci +1

      Great question and observation. In fact it does. All quantum interactions behave as if they are a superposition of all possible paths. But the other paths all cancel out in the limit to infinity. Even with other objects in space (stars, galaxies etc..), in the limit of infinite space, they cancel out. Plus anything beyond a certain distance is going to have limited affect on that summation.
      However, in a medium that is not infinite, they do not cancel, hence the result.

    • @FunkyDexter
      @FunkyDexter Před 10 měsíci +2

      Because the explanation is wrong, on multiple accounts.
      1. The speed of light is not constant in general relativity, because gravitational fields are not inertial frames of reference. Locally observers still measure the same speed of light, but across larger distances they might see the speed change (it actually can assume ANY value depending on reference frame). GR supplanted the postulate "speed is constant" with "light travels on null geodesics".
      2. Photons only exist as part of field-matter interaction. The EM field itself can take on any value of energy. Just think about the field generated by an accelerating charge, it forms a continuous spectrum depending on acceleration, which is not quantized.
      3. There is a deep issue with his representation of the primary wave and the stimulated wave to show group and phase velocity (around the 8:00 minute mark): he's constantly talking about photons, but what he's showing here are two continuous waves interfering. Notice though how the resulting interference is comprised of wave packets (again, result of matter-field interaction).
      The description of phase velocity and group velocity makes sense if we're talking about continuous waves, but not if we're talking about quantized energy exchanges. I don't think he explains this clearly enough at the end of the video, where he just talks about "quantum nature" without explaining how the difference arises.
      3.5 Another important issue with the group velocity picture is that it only appears when the two interfering waves travel at different speeds. He kind of swept it under the rug first showing the two waves traveling at the same speed with a phase difference at 7:20, then he sneakily made them move at different speeds at 7:30. So even if the incident waves were to travel at c even inside the medium, the stimulated wave would not. So which is it?
      If you look up the definition of refractive index, you find that it is the ratio between c (speed of light) and the PHASE velocity (not group velocity). I.e., the speed of light is different.
      4. If we want to use the photon description, we need to use another reasoning. The real reason photons are quantized entitities is not that they contain a minimum amount of energy (well, they do, but this is a result of another property): they have quantized angular momentum, hbar. This is a direct result of emission from matter: the difference between adjacent levels of the quantum number of angular momentum in atoms (ml) is exactly hbar.
      Since the "wavepacket" is restricted by moving at the speed of light in a vacuum and the angular momentum must always be hbar, the result is the famous relationship E=hf. Note that f can take on ANY value.
      5. In a semi-classical way, we can assign an "effective radius" of the photon to account for the angular momentum (according to L=mvr, with m being the effective mass of the photon E/c^2). The angular momentum applies a torque on charged matter in a medium, which in turn acts to reduce the angular momentum by an amount hbar/n^2, where n is the refractive index. The effective radius though is the same as in free space: the only way for this to happen to conserve energy is for c to be smaller.
      On this point I reference the papers by Loudon, Padgett et al., and Mansuripur.
      6. Related to the above, Maxwell equations are very clear: c changes because mu0 and e0 are not those of a vacuum anymore.

    • @edwardjenner1381
      @edwardjenner1381 Před 10 měsíci

      @@FunkyDexter Which university did you go to to learn all this?

    • @FunkyDexter
      @FunkyDexter Před 10 měsíci +4

      @@edwardjenner1381 I have a master in chemistry. I had various courses dealing quantum mechanics. Needless to say, the onthological foundations were extremely lacking, which is why I researched these topics by myself.

  • @anoopkrish44
    @anoopkrish44 Před 28 dny +1

    Interesting and Useful

  • @josephbenson6301
    @josephbenson6301 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Good video... I've always found this basic topic a bit puzzling because, without adding energy, I always wondered how a photon slowed down, but then sped back up. That aside...
    Something you said in here clashed with another something I recently saw about the universe being a quantum object. That then made me wonder...
    If the universe is a quantum object, at the moment of creation (however that happens to work), would there have also been created a universe with every other possible come nation of qualities? (You know, one where up is down and light travels strictly at 55mph. And a similar one, where it's 56mph.)

  • @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy
    @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy Před 10 měsíci +3

    Excellent explanation with good animations. Sixty symbol did an excellent video on light slowing down in medium. In which he is talking that when photon interact with medium it become a polatron which has mass as it leaves the medium polatron becomes photon again and move with same speed

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci +1

      Yes, that is another way to explain it, but it is a bit more controversial.

    • @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy
      @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy Před 10 měsíci

      Sir, I am if possible please do a video on the spin of particles. Why fermions has half integer spin and boson has an integer spin explain their symmetry. Thanks

    • @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy
      @ZohaibKhan-mr7uy Před 10 měsíci

      Sir, if possible please do a video on the spin of particles. Why fermions has half integer spin and boson has an integer spin explain their symmetry. Thanks

  • @shaunmitchell2069
    @shaunmitchell2069 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Thank you very much I finally understand the contradiction in stars redshifting.

  • @yellowrosetv
    @yellowrosetv Před 10 měsíci +2

    I love this channel ❤️❤️❤️❤️ been subbed for long long time 😍

  • @user-ss3hg5sr5h
    @user-ss3hg5sr5h Před 10 měsíci +1

    Your videos are great!
    Thank you very much

  • @rururu5877
    @rururu5877 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Thank you very much, i 've juste seen the entire video and i think that you look awesome !

  • @romeolupascu920
    @romeolupascu920 Před 4 měsíci

    Somehow the quantum explanation made more sense to me than the classical one... great video, thank you Arvin.

  • @joachimkeinert3202
    @joachimkeinert3202 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Great exlanation. For more insight you can read Feynman's Lectures chapter 31. He explains how dispersion and refraction can be inferred from the constant velocity of photons (c) and the oscillating electrons of the atoms.

  • @muhammadmohaiminulislam7189
    @muhammadmohaiminulislam7189 Před 9 měsíci

    Similar thing is called "chotpoti" in Bangladesh. Except for the sauce which is made of tamarind and no ghee is used. Loaded with corriander leaves(much more than you used here), green chilies, crushed "fuchkas" and the spice as garnish.

  • @timrwilson1
    @timrwilson1 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Thanks! Keep up the good work.

  • @snehaltembhurnikar3314
    @snehaltembhurnikar3314 Před 10 měsíci

    such an incredible explanation

  • @38Oofdmq
    @38Oofdmq Před 8 měsíci

    How would you apply this quantum explanation on a negative refractive index material?

    • @schmetterling4477
      @schmetterling4477 Před 8 měsíci

      Why would you want to apply a wrong explanation to such a material? ;-)

    • @38Oofdmq
      @38Oofdmq Před 8 měsíci

      @@schmetterling4477 that is point, any theory need to be tested in all possible situations to see the inadequacy of it!

  • @matthewwilliams2128
    @matthewwilliams2128 Před 10 měsíci +2

    So what velocity of light do I see if I am moving relative to the medium it is going through? If light moves through water at 0.75C and I'm moving through it at v does the light appear to move at 0.75C still, or at 0.75C - v ? And how will the relatavistic length contraction of the water affect this?

  • @dennistucker1153
    @dennistucker1153 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Most excellent video. I really like this one.

  • @Zeero3846
    @Zeero3846 Před 10 měsíci +1

    You should follow up with an explanation of superluminal group velocities and negative group velocities.

  • @The757packerfan
    @The757packerfan Před 10 měsíci +3

    As others have pointed out, Maxwell's equation seems to point to the opposite.
    You say the speed of light doesn't change. But you also gave us the equation c = sqrt( 1 / permeability * permittivity ).
    Don't the permeability and permittivity change from vacuum to air to glass to water? So doesn't that mean c (speed of light) changes?

    • @PewrityLab
      @PewrityLab Před 4 měsíci

      You are correct. The phase velocity changes as well, just like 3b1b has shown in the recent optics series

  • @MichaelCurrie
    @MichaelCurrie Před 7 měsíci +1

    7:18 my jaw dropped. Mind blown.

  • @Alann103
    @Alann103 Před 9 měsíci

    Interessantíssimo!!! Interessantíssimo!!! Interessantíssimo!!!

  • @zakirhussain-js9ku
    @zakirhussain-js9ku Před 9 měsíci

    Oscillating electrons can emit secondary EM waves after interacting with light photons but these waves are emitted in every direction. As a result light should scatter, but it remains collimated & moves in straight line.

  • @dravikumar4401
    @dravikumar4401 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Sir, really your explanation skills are amazing.
    But I am having a doubt that, in 6:37 you have told that EM waves are produced in electrons by its own but if that so electrons emit EM Waves without absorbing light??

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      Yes, any moving electric charge will emit photons.

    • @dravikumar4401
      @dravikumar4401 Před 10 měsíci

      Is that mean electric charge carries photons??

  • @deadlyshizzno
    @deadlyshizzno Před 10 měsíci +1

    this one definitely gave me a major a-ha moment! So cool that the superposition is what causes the perceived difference in speed

  • @HadiLq
    @HadiLq Před 10 měsíci

    Thank you for sharing these great videos with us, and I don't blame you for sharing the confidence that we know how it works, because we really don't. Let me ask you two questions to make it clear that we don't know what's going on in the medium. As scientists we should be okay to say "we don't know".
    - In the quantum picture that you mentioned, what is the assumption that differentiates the result of the path integral calculation in a medium, like glass, that just have effect on the group velocity, which preserves the direction of propagation, and the scattering of light in that medium, which doesn't preserve the direction of propagation?
    - if the path integral story is the correct description of this phenomenon then glass should be heated up much more than we observe, because the acceleration of those charges would face resistance, which will end up creating a lot of heat.

    • @edwardjenner1381
      @edwardjenner1381 Před 10 měsíci

      "Let me ask you two questions to make it clear that we don't know what's going on in the medium"
      Like you said, it is OK to say you don't know. However, you should not confuse 'you' don't know with 'science doesn't have a predictive explanation'. Those questions in no way 'make it clear WE don't know what is going on' .
      But I'll you a question based on your second question. How much should the glass be heated up by the path integral (feel free to choose your light source power and size of refactor).

  • @itzakehrenberg3449
    @itzakehrenberg3449 Před 9 měsíci +1

    QM tells us that photons are emitted by an atom only when an electron jumps from one atomic orbit to another (Maxwell's equations are famously ignored in atomic models because classical physics applied to them would make EVERY atom unstable). Yet, now you tell us that an EM wave (light) will cause the bound atomic electrons to vibrate &, in the good classical style of Maxwell, emit "induced" light on their own w/o jumping between orbits. Then, the original EM waves & induced waves (both moving at c) combine to produce a single wave, but we only measure the phase velocity of the combined waves somehow.
    Sorry if I am skeptical, but enjoy the praise of the masses, sir.

  • @filthyfilter2798
    @filthyfilter2798 Před 7 měsíci +1

    YOU ARE BEST OF THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU

  • @Nehmo
    @Nehmo Před 9 měsíci

    10:25 If all we see at the exit of the transparent material is the superposition of all the possible wavefronts, then how does light exit the material consistently, in a pattern exactly like the original entering light? Wouldn't it come out of the material in every which way?

  • @akildoktoru
    @akildoktoru Před 10 měsíci

    At time 3:21 we see an animation for propagation of light waves. It is also said that this propagation is induced according to Maxwell's equations 3 and 4. But in above animation, it is not clear to me what animated electric field change induces what animated magnetic field change and vice versa. Starting with time equals zero, can you please explain what parts of this animation induces what parts of this animation along time?

  • @IntraFinesse
    @IntraFinesse Před 10 měsíci +1

    Arvin, You would get a ton of search hits if you add the tag "How does light travel slower than".
    many people think the Photons have slowed below C and search results don't yield web pages with as good a description as you have made.

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci +1

      Good suggestion! Thank you.

  • @mmotsenbocker
    @mmotsenbocker Před 10 měsíci +1

    Can we define a photon as a single indivisible vibration that is created or destroyed (but not altered) by adding its energy to mass (bundle of standing waves?) or emerging from same as a traveling wave? Feynman taught that things such as electrons constantly absorb and emit such photon vibrations many many times as they approach and interact with other things..............................
    Second, I would love to see photon polarization discussed since so many people are confused in that area/ On the one hand + spin and - spin photons are circularly polarized respectively but on the other hand isnt spin per se merely the direction and not the magnitude of the angular momemtum of the spin? The ambiguities I see might be explained by photons having mixtures of circular and linear polarizations.

  • @DrDeuteron
    @DrDeuteron Před 10 měsíci +1

    There are several video on this topic, and I think they pretty much just cause confusion. Classically, one can use the linear "in-media" Maxwell's equations (the ones with E, B, D, H), and it's clear the propagation of the wave is slowed down in media.
    The atomic electrons do not vibrate at all frequencies under the influence of the external electric field (that would make it impossible to match boundary conditions); rather, the entire atomic orbital is polarized (a dipole moment is induced) at the frequency of the background EM wave. This presents a bound charge that slows propagation down.
    The statement that a changing electric field induces a magnetic field (and vice versa) which leads to a self-propagating wave is useful, but technically incorrect. All fields are only sourced by charges, currents, and their time derivative on the past light cone. (See Jefimenko's equations). In this view, there is interference between the distant original source, and locally induced polarization that slows the propagation of the wave front.
    Saying that this a group vs phase velocity thing does not help. For instance, in a dispersion-less medium with index of refraction n, both the group and phase velocity are c/n.
    Dispersion only occurs if the index of refraction depends on frequency. phase velocity is w/k, and group velocity is dw/dk, which is a whole different video. Water waves are classic for this, as they differ by a factor of 2.
    Considering the classical EM wave as a bunch of photons is too advanced (see: Glauber State)...the number of photons isn't even well defined, thanks to usual quantum mechanics things.
    Now you can do one photon at a time (maybe a Fock State?), and I have: you need to account for propagation delay if you want to get the timing right, so as far as I'm concerned: it slows down.
    And if you want to understand the Feynman path integral formulation, and why it works somewhat intuitively with light, start with Fermat's principle of Least Time (with an understanding of Lagrangian and "Action") and then ready Feynman's short and brilliant book: QED, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter.

  • @Corvaire
    @Corvaire Před 10 měsíci +1

    Well done as usual Arvin. ;O)-

  • @kevinmorgan2317
    @kevinmorgan2317 Před 8 měsíci

    If the incoming wave (little packets of energy) cause the electrons to vibrate, there must be a transfer of energy... and since this can be done only in discrete multiples, does the incoming photon still exist? And how do the induced waves/photons know to travel in the same direction as the incoming wave?

    • @schmetterling4477
      @schmetterling4477 Před 8 měsíci

      A photon is the amount of energy that an emitter or absorber exchanges with the electromagnetic field. It's a property change of the system involved in the emission or absorption process. So, no, photons do not "exist" in the free field. They do not travel at all. These are all just really poor semi-classical mental models that don't work, even though they stubbornly persist in the public's mind and still dominate really poor high school and undergrad teaching.

  • @idrisarab5110
    @idrisarab5110 Před 10 měsíci

    👍🌹👍 Thanks Sir 👍🌹👍
    You selected right topic where many many r confused. Me too. 🤭

  • @aguma2067
    @aguma2067 Před 10 měsíci

    Un vídeo fantástico 👏👏👏

  • @elmolewis9123
    @elmolewis9123 Před 10 měsíci

    Excellent presentation.

  • @trigonzobob
    @trigonzobob Před 10 měsíci +2

    Is it me or is the induced wave traveling slower than the original wave in the animation?
    What about a material causes the group velocity to be different than other materials?

  • @micaiasoliveira6337
    @micaiasoliveira6337 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Hey, Arvin, could you please tell me if in the quantum explanation for refraction the individual photon speed remains 299 792 458 m / s?

    • @ArvinAsh
      @ArvinAsh  Před 10 měsíci

      Theoretically yes. Photons and all other massless particles cannot travel at any other speed but the maximum. They would not exist otherwise.

    • @micaiasoliveira6337
      @micaiasoliveira6337 Před 10 měsíci

      @@ArvinAsh Thanks

  • @jeffzebert4982
    @jeffzebert4982 Před 8 měsíci

    One AMAZING thing with Quantum Mechanics is this: if you shoot a beam of light through a diffraction slit and do the same with a beam of electrons, then you'll get the same diffraction pattern!

  • @76097
    @76097 Před 10 měsíci

    My other question is about two black holes merged and we can detect the gravitational wave use LIGO. Now based on GR, if anything falls into a black hole, observers from outside the black hole will see that object goes slower and slower while it approaches the EH, the light it emitts will be more and more red shifted, until we can't detect it any more. We are going to see it frozen near the EH. How can we even detect the gravitational wave of two black hole merged? Should they be seems slower and slower but NEVER will pennitraing the EH to us? Thanks!

  • @Banminator7
    @Banminator7 Před 9 měsíci

    Can you make a video about why light stops in non transparent media?

  • @InShadowsLinger
    @InShadowsLinger Před 10 měsíci +2

    I just can’t wrap my head around how we get from “math describes it this way” to “that is what actually happens”. As in math has to calculate every possible path, therefore light actually takes every possible path.

  • @fazalkarim3997
    @fazalkarim3997 Před 10 měsíci +1

    If it is possible please arrange a lecture like this to explain the superluminal propagation of light.

  • @jonathandawson3091
    @jonathandawson3091 Před 10 měsíci

    5:30 is the best fourth wall break that I've ever seen in a video.

  • @kayakutah
    @kayakutah Před 10 měsíci

    Great explanation.

  • @alexalekos
    @alexalekos Před 10 měsíci

    0:48 so is the pattern of colours that exits the glass also a result of the interference of the induced light?

  • @amphibiousone7972
    @amphibiousone7972 Před 10 měsíci

    Outstanding 😊🤝

  • @TSulemanW
    @TSulemanW Před 10 měsíci

    Nicely explain, speed of light always constant , when its travel in space, where the density of atom in space is rare, but if travel in medium like water or glass , etc do to atomic force of medium material light will bend or diffract or reflex .

  • @NeonVisual
    @NeonVisual Před 10 měsíci

    When I render and have casuistic and ray tracing turned on, render times are slower too. Coincidence?

  • @jazznik2
    @jazznik2 Před 10 měsíci

    I previously saw another video (dont remember whose video it was) that explained this a little differently. IIRC the other video said that when light passes thru a medium of matter, the matter also has waves that combine w the light waves and these combined waves move slower than the speed of light. This video seems to explain this in more detail. I dont think the other video mentioned induced light waves. And it didnt mention the quantum mechanical explanation, which I dont really understand anyway.

  • @johnishikawa2200
    @johnishikawa2200 Před 9 měsíci

    White light passing through a prism gets broken up - refracted - into the different colors , or wavelengths , and these colors travel through the glass prism at different speeds ... correct ? This always bothered me , but your explanation of phase velocity and group velocity goes a long way toward clearing that up for me . I want to say also that Huygens explanation of light waves traveling as expanding spheres may also bring this phenomenon of light traveling at different velocities through material where the optical density of the medium changes abruptly , into clarity .

  • @GaryFerrao
    @GaryFerrao Před 10 měsíci

    This is the correct explanation of our present scientific knowledge. Better than some other videos that mistakenly say that light travels longer because of randomly scattering off atoms.