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Scientists use light years to calculate distance because they can tell how far away things are in space by measuring how much time it takes for light to reach a certain point. It's just easier to say how many light years things are in space then to say in miles.

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Q: Why do scientists use the speed of light to calculate distance?
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What is use by scientist to measure the distance light travel in one year?

Scientists don't measure the distance light travels in one year. They calculate it by measuring the speed of light. The speed is 300,000,000 meters/sec. and can be measured in the laboratory with a rotating mirror apparatus. To get the distance traveled by light in one year you multiply the speed (above) by the number of seconds in a year. The answer will come out in meters and is also called one light year.


Why can astronomers use the speed of light to calculate distances?

Because visible light is emitted at a known frequency (a time) and then it is as simple as Speed = Distance / Time therefore Distance = Speed x Time.


How many hours does it take to drive 574 miles?

That depends on the speed. Divide the distance by the speed to calculate this.That depends on the speed. Divide the distance by the speed to calculate this.That depends on the speed. Divide the distance by the speed to calculate this.That depends on the speed. Divide the distance by the speed to calculate this.


How do you calculate time from speed and distance?

time = distance ÷ speed


How do you calculate the speed time and distance?

Speed times Time = Distance


How calculate speed from time and distance?

Speed = distance divided by time


Calculate speed of a car from distance and time?

SPEED = DISTANCE divided by TIME


How to calculate speed of car from distance and time?

Speed = Distance divided by Time


What is the equation for average speed?

speed = distance/time --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- you calculate speed by the equation m/sec or cm/sec. This means that you would divide the distance by the time it took. Actually to measure the speed of light is an interesting and intelligent task done by the scientists. Because the speed of light is 300,000 km in one second which is actually incredible. Out of all those, Michelson's rotating octagonal mirror method is very important. In his experiment the equation to calculate the speed of light is speed of light = N n D. Here N = 8 as octagonal rotor is used. n - the number of rotations made by the rotor in one second. D - the total distance travelled by light. Michelson did this experiment keeping the observatory on one mountain, Mt.Wilson and a reflector on another mountain, Mt. Antonio separated by some 35 km.


What is the equation calculating speed?

speed = distance/time --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- you calculate speed by the equation m/sec or cm/sec. This means that you would divide the distance by the time it took. Actually to measure the speed of light is an interesting and intelligent task done by the scientists. Because the speed of light is 300,000 km in one second which is actually incredible. Out of all those, Michelson's rotating octagonal mirror method is very important. In his experiment the equation to calculate the speed of light is speed of light = N n D. Here N = 8 as octagonal rotor is used. n - the number of rotations made by the rotor in one second. D - the total distance travelled by light. Michelson did this experiment keeping the observatory on one mountain, Mt.Wilson and a reflector on another mountain, Mt. Antonio separated by some 35 km.


What is the formula for instantaneous speed?

calculate the distance traveled by the time taken


How do you calculate exact speed?

You can calculate a speed by dividing a distance by the time it takes to cover that distance. If you want the instantaneous speed (for situations of variable speed), you need to calculate the distance and time for a fairly short time interval (ideally, the limit, when the time approaches zero).