Light

A Scientific Study Of Light In Our Dimension

by Craig Hill (hill@latcs1.lat.oz.au)
written 09 Apr 1992

This article is classified "Partly real, partly fictional"


Light, according to really froody philosophers, is a severe lack of darkness;
but as everybody else knows it's just ..., well it just is.  Although its own
existence is under question, light is known to be the most important thing in
the universe (except for Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters) so this ultimate guide
HAS to cover it somewhere.  This being the case, I talked to some of the 
galaxy's leading light scientists and they had this to say:

 - Light is called light because that is what it is.  I put 3 kg of light on
   my kitchen scales last week and it weighed nothing.  As this clearly
   shows, light is the ultimate in lightness, so it just has to be called
   "light."

 - This is ridiculous, how can you seriously examine light when it does not
   even exist?  There are two theories as to what light is, but they are both
   clearly (I'm not sure how anything can be clear without light) a load of
   fetid dingoes kidneys.

   Theory 1: Light is made up of waves - I have seen plenty of light (yes he
     can see things that don't exist) and I have never seen it wave to me.  I
     am a very friendly sort of guy so anything that is a wave and still will
     not wave to me can't exist.

   Theory 2: Light is made up of matter particles - As somebody else said, 'I
     put 3 kg of light on my kitchen scales and it weighed nothing';
     something that weighs nothing obviously can't exist, so light can't
     exist either.

 - Let me go, I couldn't care less about light.  This is Milliways, and I
   want to watch the end of everything.  Be reasonable, if I can write a
   report on something like this, they will have to give me a knighthood and
   a Nobel Prize.  I might even find some females who will talk to me.
   (Don't blame me, I talked to him but he wouldn't co-operate.  20th Century
   Earth scientists always were a problem.)

 - Light is the definitive subject of all science.  Light defines the maximum
   speed for all matter (play in a Total Perspective Vortex for a while and
   you will realize that nothing matters though - that's why the principles
   of improbability physics and the Bistromathic drive work so well).
   Without light, nothing can exist; everything would be a black hole, and
   that is about as exciting as infinity according to a certain hyper-
   intelligent shade of blue.  Shade of blue - that is a color - which
   requires light - I've done it, I've proved that light exists.  (He was a
   little eccentric, but something in all of that must be right.)

             'But one thing is true - light always behaves like light.'
                       -- my Year 12 Physics teacher.

See also:
  • Infinity
  • Dark Suckers
  • Shadowlight
  • Light, Space, Time, And Imagination
  • Black Holes
  • Light, Speed Of, Why It Is Finite
  • Alternate Universes

  • Go to [Root page | Title list | Author list | Date list | Index]