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Speed ​​of light theory: understanding and how to calculate it

The theory of the speed of light really needs to be known. There is a separate way to find out the amount of light in this theory. The speed of light itself in physics has the symbol c.

This theory developed from the theory of relativity belonging to a brilliant German scientist, namely Albert Einstein.

He had previously managed to discover the special theory of relativity in 1905 and the following year he switched to the general theory of relativity.

The presence of this special theory of relativity states that the physical equation for any object will always be the same, even if we observe the object in a moving state.

This theory also contains the speed of light which we will discuss below.

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What is the speed of light theory?

The speed of light is defined as the unit of distance traveled by light every 1 second. In a vacuum, the speed of light will always be the same for all observers.

That is, the speed of light will not depend on the movement of the light source. In doing so, Einstein proved that there is no object with mass capable of traveling and equaling the speed of this light.

In a vacuum, the speed of light usually has the symbol c, which is a universal physical constant and is very important in many fields of physics.

The speed of light in vacuum is 299,702,458 meters per second. This total value has become an exact value because it is useful for defining the standard unit of meter (a unit of length) and also for defining the international standard unit of time.

This theoretical value for the speed of light would be equivalent to approximately 186,000 miles per second or 671 million miles per hour. If there was someone who could travel at the speed of light, then they could go around the Earth 7.5 times in just one second.

Is the speed of light constant?

Light will travel in waves, just like sound. The propagation of light can be slowed down depending on what it is doing.

In Earth’s atmosphere, light travels nearly as fast as light in a vacuum. Meanwhile, the light passing through a diamond will be slowed down by half.

In this theory there is a term called light years. It is a unit of time and distance.

The distance that light travels in one year is called a light year. Understanding light years is actually not difficult.

For example, light travels from the moon to the human eye in one second. That is, the distance to the moon is one light second.

Meanwhile, sunlight takes up to eight minutes to reach the human eye. Therefore, the distance from the Sun is about eight light minutes.

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Another example is the light from the closest star system, namely Alpha Centauri. It takes 4.3 years for their light to reach Earth, so this star system is 4.3 light-years away. Understanding these light years makes it easier for you to understand the theory of the speed of light.

Measure the speed of light

Isaac Beeckman was a Dutch scientist who first measured the speed of light in 1629. He believed that light needs time to travel through space.

The next attempt came from a Danish astronomer named Ole Christensen Romer in 1676. At that time he noticed that the eclipse of one of the moons of Io on the planet Jupiter occurs faster when the Earth is close to the planet.

He concluded that it took some time for light to travel from Jupiter to Earth. Romer then estimated the time taken for light to travel about 22 km to the diameter of Earth’s orbit, which gives a figure of 220,000 km/s.

Measurements with instruments in the theory of the speed of light were first made by a French scientist, Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau in 1849.

Makes tools with dagran. The most recent measurements finally get the number 299,782,458 ms for the speed of light.

In the theory of relativity itself, the constant C refers to time and space. The formula is E = mc^2.

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Is there anything faster than the speed of light?

In fact, the speed of light is the fastest in the universe. Reports had stirred up the past that neutrinos travel up to 60 nanoseconds.

However, the report turned out to be incorrect. This proves that the speed of light as the fastest is true and nothing can match it.

This is understanding, history, and also how to calculate the theory of the speed of light. It is actually not difficult to understand this theory if you study it diligently. (R10/HR-Online)

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