• @Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Everything in the universe reflects light. Except black holes. Only things you cannot see do not reflect light.

    • @tweeks@feddit.nl
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      86 months ago

      And things in itself that are too small to see with even a microscope do not reflect light right? Light might interact there but will not reflect in the usual sense, it can however emit light though. As far as I understand that is.

      • @Entropywins@lemmy.world
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        66 months ago

        There is a lot to it wavelength, size of reflecting object (if it’s smaller than the wavelength it can’t reflect anything back also applies to emitting photons), reflectance or the fraction of light reflected at the surface of the object (the energy it obsorbs vs energy it kicks back), phase shift, if the photon is traveling from one medium to another with a lower or higher refractive index (redirection of a wave as it passess from one medium to another) it will change the oscillations (kinda like a feedback loop, photons effect electrons in the medium and electrons effect photons right back) like looking at a pencil behind a glass of water distorts what you see. I probably missed some things but I gotta admit it always fascinates me to think about light and reflection.

    • Deme
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      46 months ago

      The event horizon isn’t a physical object. Does a singularity reflect light? (I’m guessing it’s still a no)

        • Deme
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          16 months ago

          No. An object within the event horizon is still reflecting light just as it was before falling in. The only difference is in relation to where that reflected light can or cannot go from there.

      • @Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
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        16 months ago

        Never seen a singularity so would have to agree it doesn’t. Visible Event Horizons are made up of matter that does reflect light, but if there is no matter involved only light you would likely see is distorted as it passes through it from other sources

        • Deme
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          36 months ago

          No event horizon is made up of matter. Do you mean the matter around and behind the black hole, by which the location and size of the black hole can be inferred?