Tuesday, 10 October 2023

Why light take the path of least time an alternative explanation for the...

My new video: Why light take the path of least time an alternative geometrical explanation for Fermat's Principle. 

  In these videos, a simple geometrical process can explain why we have the Principle of Least Time.

 

If we take Huygens’ Principle of 1670, that says: “Every point on a wave front has the potential for a new spherical wave”.

 

Based on this principle we can have a geometrical process with light radiating out in every direction as a spherical wave. 

 

   Simple geometry tell us that the radius of the sphere will always be the shortest path to any point on the spherical surface.

 

The interior of the sphere is naturally three-dimensional giving us our three dimensions of everyday life.

 

When the spherical wave front encounters an object, it forms a photon electron interaction.

 

When this happens photon potential energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of electrons.  

 

  Because kinetic energy is the energy of motion, At that point, in space and at that moment in time our three-dimensional world slightly changes.

 

We see light take the shortest path of least time because this exchange of energy is continuously forming a probabilistic uncertain future that is coming into existence photon-by-photon, quanta by quanta, moment by moment.

 

 

 

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