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[-] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago

they do tavel in a perfectly straight line though.

space time is curved, not the light path.

[-] kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 months ago

What about the fact that light bends around corners? Notably the interference pattern when shining light through a slit?

[-] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Stop being mean to light by making it choose what slits to go through.

it has choice anxiety.

[-] kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 months ago

Ah, sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the single-slit experiment, I wasn't giving light a choice.

[-] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

that's worse :(

let light be free

[-] SystemDisc@feddit.org -1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I don’t think that’s right because they are affected by gravity, even if ever so slightly

[-] Maldreamer@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago

But isn't the gravity bending the space, so the light itself is travelling straight but seems curved to the observer?

[-] SystemDisc@feddit.org 4 points 2 months ago

Hmm, I’m not actually sure. Are we also ignoring refraction and reflection because the path is straight between those? If we’re talking discrete photons, you may be correct about each segment in its path being perfectly straight, but I’m not a theoretical physicist.

[-] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

"through vacuum"

[-] IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

gravity isn't a force, it's the curvature of space-time itself.

light follows a perfectly straight line through vacuum. the space itself isn't straight.

like drawing a straight line on a flat paper, if you roll the paper, that line is still straight within it's medium.

Newtonian gravity has been replaced by General relativity, and has been proven to be the correct model (at least more correct than Newtonian gravity).

[-] SystemDisc@feddit.org 2 points 2 months ago

Makes sense to me. Thanks

this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2026
915 points (97.3% liked)

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