Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory
Okay, so imagine you're playing catch with your friend. You throw the ball, and your friend catches it. But how does the ball get from you to your friend? Well, it travels through the air, right?
Now, let's say you're playing catch with your friend, but instead of a ball, you're throwing energy. That might be a little harder to imagine, but we can still try!
In the world of physics, we call this energy "electromagnetic radiation." It could be something like light or radio waves. And just like a ball traveling through the air, electromagnetic radiation travels through space.
So, if you're throwing energy to your friend, what happens if your friend isn't there to catch it? Maybe the energy just keeps traveling forever, right?
Well, that's where the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory comes in. It suggests that when you throw energy, it's actually being "absorbed" by everything else in the universe.
That might sound weird, but imagine this: You throw a rock into a pond. The ripples from that rock spread out in every direction, right? And when those ripples hit the side of the pond or a plant or a fish, they get absorbed.
In the same way, when you throw energy into the universe, it's like creating ripples. And those ripples are being absorbed by everything around them.
Now, you might be wondering, "If everything in the universe is absorbing this energy all the time, does that mean there's no energy left for me to throw?"
Well, not exactly. The Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory suggests that the energy you throw is actually being "reflected" back to you from everything else in the universe. It's like if you shout in a room with a lot of hard walls, the sound waves bounce back to you and you can hear an echo.
So, when you throw energy, it's being absorbed and reflected and absorbed and reflected over and over again by everything in the universe. And that's how the energy gets from you to your friend, or from the sun to the Earth, or from a radio tower to your phone.
Pretty cool, huh?
Now, let's say you're playing catch with your friend, but instead of a ball, you're throwing energy. That might be a little harder to imagine, but we can still try!
In the world of physics, we call this energy "electromagnetic radiation." It could be something like light or radio waves. And just like a ball traveling through the air, electromagnetic radiation travels through space.
So, if you're throwing energy to your friend, what happens if your friend isn't there to catch it? Maybe the energy just keeps traveling forever, right?
Well, that's where the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory comes in. It suggests that when you throw energy, it's actually being "absorbed" by everything else in the universe.
That might sound weird, but imagine this: You throw a rock into a pond. The ripples from that rock spread out in every direction, right? And when those ripples hit the side of the pond or a plant or a fish, they get absorbed.
In the same way, when you throw energy into the universe, it's like creating ripples. And those ripples are being absorbed by everything around them.
Now, you might be wondering, "If everything in the universe is absorbing this energy all the time, does that mean there's no energy left for me to throw?"
Well, not exactly. The Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory suggests that the energy you throw is actually being "reflected" back to you from everything else in the universe. It's like if you shout in a room with a lot of hard walls, the sound waves bounce back to you and you can hear an echo.
So, when you throw energy, it's being absorbed and reflected and absorbed and reflected over and over again by everything in the universe. And that's how the energy gets from you to your friend, or from the sun to the Earth, or from a radio tower to your phone.
Pretty cool, huh?