Does gravity apply to light?
Yes, light is affected by gravity, but not in its speed. General Relativity (our best guess as to how the Universe works) gives two effects of gravity on light. It can bend light (which includes effects such as gravitational lensing), and it can change the energy of light. The speed of light is still constant.
How does gravity interact with light?
According to Newtonian gravity, light is not affected by gravity, as light is massless. Einstein’s law E = mc2, immediately suggests that light is affected by gravity. This is indeed the case and has experimentally be observed via gravitational lensing and other effects.
Does light ignore gravity?
Short answer: no. However, when falling in a gravity field, the momentum of light increases. In Relativistic mechanics, these quantities are not proportional.
Is light slowed by gravity?
Answer: The short answer is no, the speed of light is unchanged by gravity. If for example light travels from a distant star to Earth and passes by a black hole, the path of the light will get bent as it passes by the black hole, which will lengthen its travel time. The actual speed of light, though, is unchanged.
Does gravity bend light or space?
The presence of matter curves space, and the path of a light ray will be deflected as a result. This process is called gravitational lensing because of its similarity to the way normal lenses bend light rays that pass through them. Einstein predicted that light rays would be bent by the gravity of massive objects.
Does light move slower in gravity?
Does light travel slower in gravity?
Why does gravity slow time?
Gravitational time dilation occurs because objects with a lot of mass create a strong gravitational field. The gravitational field is really a curving of space and time. The stronger the gravity, the more spacetime curves, and the slower time itself proceeds.