Complex numbers may be able to reconcile the empirical observation that the observed value for the speed of light i s constant with the classical intuition that the speed of light is variable.
If the speed of light c is always constant from an observational standpoint and if the real component is identified with c the n the imaginary part will remain superfluous . One way to ensure the imaginary component cannot be ignored is to associate the observed constant value c with the magnitude of the complex value. Since the convention in mathematics is to use z to represent a complex number I will rewrite what I wrote as: z = a + ib, |z| = sqrt( a^2 + b^2) = c However, your question made me realize that another way to insure the imaginary component cannot be dismissed is to multiply c by the imaginary number i and have that become the imaginary component and let the real part vary from zero to infinity: z = a + ib, if c = b then z = a + ic, and c = (z - a)/i Harry On Sun, Nov 2, 2014 at 5:40 AM, James Bowery <[email protected]> wrote: > > Why would the act of measurement take the absolute value rather than, say, the real component of the complex value? > > On Sat, Nov 1, 2014 at 6:44 PM, H Veeder <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> If the speed light in a vacuum c had a real and an imaginary components too, then the components could vary with motion but >> the measured value would appear constant and correspond to the magnitude |c|. >> >> c = a + ib , >> |c| = sqrt( a^2 + b^2) = constant >> >> Harry >> >> On Thu, Oct 30, 2014 at 6:45 PM, James Bowery <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> A particularly intriguing notion of Konstantin Meyl's is that a "complex speed of light" is derivable from the conventional interpretation of the dielectric coefficient, rendering that conventional interpretation "an offense against the basic principles of physics": >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> http://www.k-meyl.de/go/Primaerliteratur/2P9_0930-1-piers-extended_field_theory.pdf >>> >>> This seems to be his point of departure into "fringe" physics his replacement of the vector potential with his derivation of the "potential vortex". >> >> >
