How my 10 year old cousin learned of the speed of light

[1MileCrash]

I always wanted to make a post about this, because it's kind of cool.

Living in south Louisiana, hunting/trapping/fishing is a big part of the culture.

This January, my dad's brother and his son were on a deer stand on a pipeline, and they saw a whitetail that was about 500 yards away, too long of a shot for my cousin. However that didn't stop him from watching it.

As he looked through the scope of the rifle, watching the deer, suddenly he exclaimed "the deer fell!"

Then they heard a gunshot.

He's never stopped talking about it. I think it's the little signs like that that say maybe one day he'll take up physics.

 

[pergradus]

You should get him a book on physics as a present if he's showing interest at a young age.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I always wanted to make a post about this, because it's kind of cool.

Living in south Louisiana, hunting/trapping/fishing is a big part of the culture.

This January, my dad's brother and his son were on a deer stand on a pipeline, and they saw a whitetail that was about 500 yards away, too long of a shot for my cousin. However that didn't stop him from watching it.

As he looked through the scope of the rifle, watching the deer, suddenly he exclaimed "the deer fell!"

Then they heard a gunshot.

He's never stopped talking about it. I think it's the little signs like that that say maybe one day he'll take up physics.

Well, that's more to do with the difference between the speed of sound and the speed of light, but yes, that's a very educational experience.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Don't you get lightning storms in Lousiana?

 

[1MileCrash]

Sure, but that's not nearly as clear to a child regarding what's actually happening. There's usually multiple strikes going on etc, a clear sunny day, watching a deer fall and then hearing a gunshot while paying close attention yields more of a "wtf?" response, I think.