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mysearch
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By way of clarification, this post is intended as a question, not as some thinly disguised alternative theory. So, as possibly an uninformed generalisation, it seems that the verification of most cosmological models must ultimately depend on observations that are predicated on the detection of photons and, in many cases, the assumption of the constancy of speed of light [c]. In this context, [c] is assumed to be the propagation of light through an 'absolute' vacuum.
However, in optics, there is the general acceptance that [c] reduces to [v] when passing through a given material that has a refractive index greater than 1. As I understand it, this change from [c] to [v] is based on light being delayed as photons collide with matter on-route and, in the process, get absorbed and retransmitted. This is assumption, so any clarification would be welcomed.
As such, I was wondering whether the approximate vacuum of space would represent an increasing opaqueness to the propagation of photons with distance. While the probability of light being ‘delayed’ within the solar system would appear to be small, if we increase the scale towards that of a galaxy, it is assumed that this opaqueness might increase as a function of distance. If we expand beyond a galaxy, some cosmology models now suggest that we might encounter dark matter and dark energy.
So are there any estimates for the refractive index of dark matter or dark energy?
If galaxies are thought to be surrounded by dark matter to account for galactic rotation and the interstellar space is filled with dark energy, do we have any idea of the net effect on the propagation velocity [c] on the very large scale of cosmic space, if the effective opaqueness could increase with distance. Ultimately, there seems to be the suggestion that the probability of photons ever reaching us directly from its source must fall to zero, if the net opaqueness increases due to billions of galaxies and billions of light-years of space. So my general questions are:
Are any of these assumptions valid?
Do current cosmology models account for any delays in the propagation of light?
Thanks
However, in optics, there is the general acceptance that [c] reduces to [v] when passing through a given material that has a refractive index greater than 1. As I understand it, this change from [c] to [v] is based on light being delayed as photons collide with matter on-route and, in the process, get absorbed and retransmitted. This is assumption, so any clarification would be welcomed.
As such, I was wondering whether the approximate vacuum of space would represent an increasing opaqueness to the propagation of photons with distance. While the probability of light being ‘delayed’ within the solar system would appear to be small, if we increase the scale towards that of a galaxy, it is assumed that this opaqueness might increase as a function of distance. If we expand beyond a galaxy, some cosmology models now suggest that we might encounter dark matter and dark energy.
So are there any estimates for the refractive index of dark matter or dark energy?
If galaxies are thought to be surrounded by dark matter to account for galactic rotation and the interstellar space is filled with dark energy, do we have any idea of the net effect on the propagation velocity [c] on the very large scale of cosmic space, if the effective opaqueness could increase with distance. Ultimately, there seems to be the suggestion that the probability of photons ever reaching us directly from its source must fall to zero, if the net opaqueness increases due to billions of galaxies and billions of light-years of space. So my general questions are:
Are any of these assumptions valid?
Do current cosmology models account for any delays in the propagation of light?
Thanks