Diagram 1
The particle can’t beat the photon if they travel next to each other, but in one scenario, the particle would win.
Light travels faster than everything. That’s one rule from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. But in one scenario, a human accelerated particle might begin at an imaginary start line and reach an imaginary finish line before a photon.
Consider schematic Diagram 1. Two galaxies are attracted by gravity. The more massive galaxy (left) pulls the less massive galaxy (right). All galaxies have super-massive black holes at center, represented here by the big black dots. Imagine two green lines, a start and finish line respectively.
Diagram 2
Diagram 2 (right) is an enlarged picture of the inset from Diagram 1. Two photons (red dots) start at an imaginary green start line. The photons may be separated by a thousand light years. The top photon is emitted from a star near galaxy center. The bottom photon is emitted from another star a thousand light years away in the galaxy.
Both photons race toward the finish line, the second green line (left). The black hole is moving toward the more massive galaxy. As the black hole moves, it pulls spacetime with it.
But in one scenario, a human accelerated particle might begin at an imaginary start line and reach an imaginary finish line before a photon.
Diagram 3
In Diagram 3 (right), the black hole of the less massive galaxy moves toward the more massive galaxy. It draws the nearby photon (top) with it.
Diagram 4
Diagram 4 (right) shows the inset from Diagram 3. The top photon finishes first because it is being dragged through space by the black hole. Both photons move at light speed, but the top photon finishes first because the nearby black hole is dragging spacetime with it. Nothing can travel faster than light speed, but the top photon wins because of the additional gravitational pull from the black hole.
Both photons move at light speed, but the top photon finishes first because the nearby black hole is dragging spacetime with it.
Diagram 5
Diagram 5 (right) shows the less massive galaxy and its black hole being pulled toward the more massive galaxy over time.
Diagram 6
Now imagine a human accelerated particle substituted for the top photon in Diagram 2. As shown in Diagram 6 at right, the particle (blue) is accelerated from an accelerator near galactic center. Both the particle and photon begin simultaneously at the green start line. The particle is accelerated to relativistic speeds, defined here to be 99.5 per cent of light speed.
Diagram 7
Presume that the black hole is moving toward the more massive galaxy at a speed that makes the particle arrive at the finish line first. The particle beats the photon to the finish line! Again, the black hole pulls the particle by gravity. The photon, which is a thousand light years away, experiences little gravitational pull from the black hole. The photon loses the race, as shown in Diagram 7 (right).
.
.
.
Copyright, 2011.
W. Hobbs, Jr.
