Can an Electric Current Travel Instantly Across a 3000000km Long Cable?

AI Thread Summary
Electric current does not travel instantly; it propagates through a conductor at a speed determined by the material's properties, typically a fraction of the speed of light. In the scenario described, when a switch at one end of a 3,000,000 km cable is closed, the current will not reach the detector at the other end instantaneously. Instead, there will be a time delay based on the propagation speed of the electric signal through the cable. The concept of using a long cable to transmit Morse code by opening and closing a switch is theoretically interesting but practically unfeasible due to the finite speed of signal transmission. Therefore, messages cannot be sent instantaneously over vast distances like one light-year.
salor
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Hi, all.
There's a thought flashing through my mind yesterday.
Sorry for my lack of knowledge. The thought must be something wrong.
Can anyone correct it? Thanks
If there is a 3000000km long power cable, and the cable is pulled to 3000000km away from the earth.
A power source connected on one side A of the cable on the Earth keeps outputting the electric current, and the switch of side B on the cable (away from Earth 3000000km) is close. And there's a "current detector" on the cable away from side A by 1km. Does the detector detect the current?
At a specific time, if the switch of side B starts to open, does the current start to go from A simultaneously?
If so, people can open and close switch of side B to let people on side A know Morse code .
If the cable is 1LY long, will transmitting message to 1LY away instantly comes true?
 
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