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ravisastry
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Hi, how is the speed of light measured in objects such as water, glass, diamond etc ? what are the tools and techniques used. thanks in advance !
Welcome to Physics Forums.ravisastry said:Hi, how is the speed of light measured in objects such as water, glass, diamond etc ? what are the tools and techniques used. thanks in advance !
I look forward to it.ravisastry said:just wanted to know how speed of light is calculated in places other than vaccumm...who knows, the answer i get, might help in formulating some new theory !
ravisastry said:Hi, how is the speed of light measured in objects such as water, glass, diamond etc ? what are the tools and techniques used. thanks in advance !
That's good for gases and fluids. Not so much for solid materials.Feldoh said:In terms of materials a viable way would be interferometry
K^2 said:That's good for gases and fluids. Not so much for solid materials.
K^2 said:That's good for gases and fluids. Not so much for solid materials
Vanadium 50 said:Kind of fun to measure the speed of light in coal.
The speed of light is a fundamental physical constant, denoted by the letter c, which represents the speed at which light travels in a vacuum. It is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second (m/s) or 670,616,629 miles per hour (mph).
The speed of light can be measured using various methods, such as the Foucault apparatus, the Fizeau experiment, and the Michelson-Morley experiment. These experiments involve measuring the time it takes for light to travel a known distance and using the formula c = d/t to calculate the speed.
The speed of light is considered a constant because it does not change regardless of the observer's frame of reference. This was first demonstrated by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, which states that the speed of light is the same for all observers regardless of their motion or the motion of the source of light.
According to our current understanding of physics, the speed of light cannot be exceeded. This is because as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases infinitely, making it impossible to accelerate further. However, some theories, such as string theory, propose the existence of particles that can travel faster than light.
The first attempts to measure the speed of light were made in the 17th century by scientists such as Galileo and Ole Rømer. However, it was not until the 19th century that more accurate measurements were made using experimental methods. Today, the speed of light is a precisely measured constant, and its value has been refined over the years through new technology and experiments.