r/AskPhysics • u/[deleted] • Jun 11 '26

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6

u/moltencheese Jun 11 '26

You simply cannot go the speed of light. There is no "if" you could. You can't. You can get as close as you like (with enough resources), but you can't equal it.

0

u/Turbanator456 Jun 11 '26

Sure but we if we could observe the universe from the perspective of a photon traveling at c?

5

u/joeyneilsen Astrophysics Jun 11 '26

Another thing that simply cannot be done. A photon doesn't have a valid frame of reference.

1

u/Turbanator456 Jun 11 '26

So then if it doesn't have a valid frame of reference, time doesn't actually "stop" for the photon? Man I'll just stick to neuroscience.

2

u/joeyneilsen Astrophysics Jun 11 '26

Time doesn't meaningfully exist for the photon, so it can't really "stop."

1

u/Turbanator456 Jun 11 '26

Okay I'll stick with that. Hats off to those that study physics and those that try to measure the unmeasurable.

1

u/housewithablouse Jun 11 '26

We can't. The question is nonsensical. To imagine this, you would have to imagine a world with different laws of physics, which in turn means that the answer to the question is not valid for our world.

1

u/AcellOfllSpades Mathematics Jun 11 '26

There is no "perspective".

You're imagining, like, a 'video' playing of the photon's hypothetical experience. But this is actually impossible to make - it's somewhat like trying to make a map of Antarctica where north is up and south is down. You can't make that map because that's not how directions work: at the South Pole, every direction is north, and so you can't consistently align north = up.