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The speed of light is arbitraily determined; that is, it was initially defined in terms of a standard measurement, the metre, but is now the basis for its own measurement (the definition of a metre having changed to be 1/299792458 of the distance light travels in one second and the second determined by the vibrations of a particular species of atom). Thus its speed is known exactly, because that is the definition of the units it uses.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWell, by dividing the distance between the two points which will be used in the measurement, by the time it takes for the light to travel there. It was first noticed, quite some time ago, that a moon of Jupiter seemed to move faster at some points during the year, and slower at others. After noticing that it seems to move faster when the earth is closer, and slower when the earth is further away, it was thought that the distance then had to play a factor, and thus too the speed at which light travels. By knowing how long that moon took to travel around Jupiter, taking into account when it was speeding up and slowing down they could work out the difference, and thus the speed at which light would travel. With the resources of today's technology, we can measure it to an incredibly high precision. For instance, astronauts have attached a mirror to a rock on the moon; scientists on earth can aim a laser at this mirror and measure the travel time of the laser pulse--about two and a half seconds for the round trip.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoIt seems the first successful measurement of the speed of light was by Ole Roemer, who noticed that the moons of Jupiter were behind or ahead of their "schedule" at different times of the year. He attributed this to changes in the distance between Jupiter and Earth (when the Earth is on the opposite side of the Sun, it takes the light from Jupiter and its moons about 16 minutes longer to reach Earth), and calculated the speed of light based on these observed discrepancies.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoRoemer figured this out in 1676, by observing events (such as eclipses) involving Jupiter's moons.
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Who are the scientists who calculated the speed of light?
Ole Romer
Is there a tool for measuring the speed of light?
No, but the way that scientists measured the speed of light was having a group of scientists stand on two mountains within visibility, then one group flashes open a light or lantern and they count how long it takes to reach the other mountain using a stopwatch. Then they subtract human reaction time to the equation and do some simple equation using the time they counted to find the speed of light.
What is the speed of electricity or lightning compared to the speed of sound and light?
The speed of lightning is somewhere between that of light and sound which is why most scientists would agree that the speed of light and the speed of sound make a good comparison to that of lightning and electricity.
When did scientists attempt to measure the speed of light?
Are you asking when the speed of light was first estimated, or are you asking when the speed of light was first actually measured?
Who broke the speed of light?
Nobody did, as far as we know.
Do scientist study other galaxies because they want to learn about the speed of light?
No. We already know a good deal about the speed of light. Scientists study other galxies to learn how galaxies work.
Who are the scientists who calculated the speed of light?
Ole Romer
Is there a tool for measuring the speed of light?
No, but the way that scientists measured the speed of light was having a group of scientists stand on two mountains within visibility, then one group flashes open a light or lantern and they count how long it takes to reach the other mountain using a stopwatch. Then they subtract human reaction time to the equation and do some simple equation using the time they counted to find the speed of light.
Why do scientists measure light intensity?
to know how is the light heavy
What is the speed of electricity or lightning compared to the speed of sound and light?
The speed of lightning is somewhere between that of light and sound which is why most scientists would agree that the speed of light and the speed of sound make a good comparison to that of lightning and electricity.
When did scientists attempt to measure the speed of light?
Are you asking when the speed of light was first estimated, or are you asking when the speed of light was first actually measured?
How can scientists create a portal to a parallel universe?
Scientists do not know how to create a portal to a different universe. They don't even know if it is possible. Alternate universes are merely theories. In the television show The Flash, they are working on this and it may take Flash traveling the speed of light.
What does speed compare?
The speed of light is the fastest speed we know about.
How do you make a timemachine?
the only way i know how to time travel is that if you started at earth and went for a huge distance traveling at the speed of light (299,792,458 meters a second or 186,282 miles per second) then when you come back to earth you would have traveled in time. But the problem is we have nothing that can go near the speed of light and a lot of scientists say absolutely nothing can go faster then the speed of light.
Is the earths orbit faster than the speed of light?
We know that the answwer must be "No", simply because we know that NOTHING is faster than the speed of light.
Is the bullet train faster than the speed of light?
No, not quite. We know that for sure, because nothingmoves faster than the speed of light.
Why do you measure distance in the universe in light years?
It's the fastest speed anyone can prove exists. Any speeds in excess of light speed are still just theory. Some scientists believe it is the fastest speed that will ever be achievable.( a cosmic speed limit.)
