A Rational Cosmology: Light as a Direct Relationship Between the Source and the Target

Essay XLV

This is Essay XLV of Mr. Stolyarov's series, "A Rational Cosmology," which seeks to present objective, absolute, rationally grounded views of terms such as universe, matter, volume, space, time, motion, sound, light, forces, fields, and even the higher-order concepts of life, consciousness, and volition. See the index of all the essays in "A Rational Cosmology" here.

Thus far, our discussion has concerned itself with what light is not, and we have shown prevailing scientific theories on the subject to be fundamentally flawed. However, we have not yet categorized light via its proper ontological designation, a feat possible now that prevailing fallacies have been swept aside.

It is instructive to take note of what we ubiquitously observe about light. First, light requires a source. There would be no light in the absence of stars, the Sun, light bulbs, candles, or some other entity that emits it.

Second, light requires entities to reflect off of in order to be perceived. Light, as it is originally emitted, is not visible in itself, but rather must come into contact with another entity in order for its effects to be perceived. The type of light that reflects off a given entity will determine how the entity is seen. (I.e., white light reflected off a yellow wall will cause the wall to seem yellow. Blue light reflected off that same wall will cause it to seem black.)

Furthermore, the distance of the light source from the target entity will determine how light affects said entity. A candle will render the entities closer to it more visible than the entities farther away. It is also known that some sources of light (the Sun) are capable of illuminating at greater magnitudes and distances than others (the candle).

Thus, whatever light is, it is quantifiable not only in its type (i.e., whether it is yellow, red, etc.) but also in its amount. Additionally, as shown earlier, light does not require continuity of particles in order to propagate; it can overcome a vacuum, i.e., the absence of a medium. On the contrary, it seems that, the more dense the medium, the less receptive it is to light.