Vinaire's Blog

How do we measure the uniform motion of an object? Do we measure it by its velocity, or do we measure it by its inertia?

When we try to assess the magnitude of the uniform motion by the velocity of the object we immediately run into inconsistency. We find that the velocity is different in different frames of reference and therefore, relative.

However, when we try to change the uniform motion we experience a resistance that is always the same. No matter what the velocity of the object is, the same amount of change in velocity encounters the same resistance. This is called inertia. It seems to be absolute for an object.

The magnitude of the motion of an object may be assessed in an absolute sense by its inertia.

The inherent measure of motion comes from inertia because it is activated the moment change is attempted. It is different for different objects, but it is always constant for an object. It does not matter how slow, or how fast, that object is moving with respect to some external point. Inertia is a tendency of the motion to maintain itself, which is constant for an object.

Inertia is the measure of the constant state of an object in space-time.

The greater is the inertia the more difficult it is to change the state of the object through interacting with it. The state of a truck is more difficult to change than the state of a football. That means a truck has greater inertia than a football. The greatest inertia may be registered for black holes.

Similarly, the smaller is the inertia the easier it is to change the state of motion through ineracting with it. We may go beyond objects to consider the state of electromagnetic radiation. This inertia in this case will be the tendency of the frequency to maintain itself. It will appear as resistance to change in frequency, which would be quite small.

Inertia is the measure of the constant state of electromagnetic phenomena in space-time.

This is a different look at motion. We seem to think of motion as movement relative to external reference points. As long as this movement is uniform, it is constant for that object. That constant is the inertia of the object. It does not vary with frame of reference.

The inherent state of motion of something is expressed by its inertia rather than velocity.

The sense of motion, or inertia, is then best expressed as acceleration and gravity. Here are some thoughts about inertia.

1. Inertia is a state of motion that preserves itself. It is manifested as resistance only to restore the state of motion. Infinite inertia is the state that cannot be changed. Zero inertia is a state that is always changing.

2. The universe as a whole appears to be changeless in terms of its total energy and momentum. Therefore, we may postulate that the state of the universe is infinitely persistent.  In other words, the inertia of the universe is infinite.

3. The state of motion, or inertia, may then be measured in an absolute sense using the universe as the reference.

4. Inertia may be expressed as the mass of a particle, or frequency of a wave. A particle maintains it mass, and the wave propagates at a constant frequency.

5. The state of motion, or inertia, of an atom consists of both mass in nucleus and frequency in shells around the nucleus. Mass exerts much greater resistance to change than frequency.

6. A scale of inertia may be visualized from zero inertia or infinitely changeable state of SPACE, to infinite inertia or changeless state of UNIVERSE as a whole.

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Reference: Speed of Light Essays

What is speed?

As long as a particle is moving at uniform speed, and not accelerating, any inertial frame of reference may be selected to determine its speed. The speed of the particle thus becomes arbitrary. It cannot be sensed with eyes closed because it is relative to an external reference. According to the principle of relativity, an absolute uniform speed cannot be determined because there is no absolute frame of reference.

We treat the speed of light as absolute. This appears to be an inconsistency.

The case with acceleration is different. It is a change in velocity regardless of what the velocity is. It will be the same in all inertial frames. We can sense acceleration with eyes closed. Acceleration is referenced by itself. It does not require an external reference frame.

Acceleration is absolute to the degree that it is self-referenced. 

A particle with inertia may be accelerated because it offers resistance to being pushed. But as it is accelerated, it offers less resistance to being pushed.  It then requires a greater force to accelerate it to a higher rate. In other words,

Inertia of a particle reduces as it is accelerated.

As a particle’s acceleration is increased, there comes a point when inertia has become so small that there is no resistance and nothing to push against. No available push can increase the rate of acceleration any farther. This limiting value of inertia is the same as the inertia of a photon. The inertia of a photon is so small that it cannot be accelerated.

The speed of light is uniform and constant because a photon cannot be accelerated.

The inertia of a photon is not zero because zero inertia shall correspond to infinite speed. The speed of light has a finite value because the inertia of a photon is non-zero though it is vanishingly small.

So, there is a limit to the acceleration that a particle may be subjected to. This limiting acceleration is equivalent to the “rest mass” of the particle, when it is moving at a uniform velocity and not accelerating.

The “rest mass” of a particle is the mass when it is not accelerating

The “rest mass” of a photon is zero because it cannot be accelerated from its uniform state.

So the real limit for light is the vanishing inertia.

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SUMMARY

The limit on the speed of light is actually the limit on the acceleration to which a photon may be subjected to. In fact, photon is the limit because it has so little inertia that it cannot be accelerated. When you try to push something with no inertia, there is no resistance to push against, so there is no acceleration possible. A particle with mass may be accelerated, but as it is accelerated it requires greater and greater force to increase its acceleration. In fact there comes a point where no amount of push can accelerate it any further. That is the limiting characteristic of the photon.

So, this means that as you accelerate a particle, its inertia decreases. It keeps on decreasing with higher and higher acceleration, until it is like the inertia of a photon, and it cannot be accelerated any more. The speed of light, therefore, appears to be a limit, but that is just an appearance. The actual limit is the lack of inertia of the photon.

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