Talk:Abraham–Minkowski controversy: Difference between revisions
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== Experiment Supports Minkowski == |
== Experiment Supports Minkowski == |
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Revision as of 14:57, 5 December 2013
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Experiment Supports Minkowski
Light propagates slower in any medium than it does in a vacuum. The product of the frequency and wavelength of light gives the velocity of light in either case. So, what this controversy really boils down to is the question of whether it is the frequency, the wavelength or both that changes when light enters a dielectric medium.
If the wavelength does not change, then the frequency must decrease by the same fraction that the velocity of light does upon entering the medium. Likewise, if the frequency does not change, then the wavelength must decrease by the same fraction that the velocity of light does upon entering the medium. If the frequency and the wavelength both change, they must both change by some fraction greater that the fraction by which the velocity of light changes, so that the product of the fractions may equal the fraction by which the velocity of light changes.
I am sorry that I can’t offer you a reference at this time, since I am away from home and access to my files, but this question has been put to the test of experiment by measuring the wavelength of light in water using a grating. The result was that only the wavelength changes and it decreases.
Since the momentum of a photon is Planck’s constant divided by the wavelength, the momentum must increase, because the wavelength decreases. So, this experiment supports Minkowski’s hypothesis. I find the experiment of Weilong She and Sun Yat-Sen inconclusive since light leaving a silica filament is just a photon rocket! A push on the filament is to be expected in any case.Koilon (talk) 02:08, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
- I just noticed that article on Refractive Index confirms that the frequency stays the same, while the wavelength shortens, when light enters a medium of higher refractive index.Koilon (talk) 01:51, 28 February 2010 (UTC):
Experimental Evidence Section
The only reference in the experimental evidence section is an example of bad science. Currently what is in this section is outright false, and the user who first created the section was blocked from Wikipedia for using sock puppets to promote fringe science. There are many experiments that support both sides of the controversy, and both are correct from the proper perspective. Someone who has time could review the literature and replace the section with proper experiments, but until then this wrong information should be removed. Also, I will delete the section again unless someone tells me a good reason not too within a day. 67.255.24.254 (talk) 21:13, 10 February 2012 (UTC)