When an electric motor turns its armature some work is done. If we hold the armature so as to cause friction, more work is done than when the armature turns free. We say that this work action is conveyed from the motor's internal windings to the armature by the exchange of photons. If we look only at the energy flow in the motor's windings and have no other knowledge of the armature, we can determine the armature's load by the amount of energy flow in the windings.

Now, lets construct a motor so that its armature is some distance away from the driving force of the windings. We expect a speed-of-light delay between action at the windings and action at the armature. We do see this speed-of-light delay. We do not expect to see a delay of twice the speed of light. We always see exactly the speed of light delay between the source of an action and the place where the action manifests itself.

When the load on the armature increases, it uses the potential energy that left the windings some time in the past. Instantly, a virtual photon that left the windings in the past becomes a real power producing photon that is absorbed in the armature. From the point of view of the armature, this photon left the windings before the load was realized by the armature. The windings generated the power and it was transferred to the armature at the speed of light.