There are so many particles on earth that light just bounces off like a bullet ricochets. When a bullet hits something it loses some speed. If you apply that to light on earth then it should make you think that the speed of light in space could be exponentially greater since there are hardly any particles in space for light to ricochet off of. iI you can, then think that the speed of light may be so fast that light from the edge of the univers could reach us in only a thousand years instead of many billions of years. This theory supports the bible and would probably prove that once again, science is wrong. I have a challenge for some scientists. Try measuring the speed of light in space instead of on earth. You might find out your'e wrong after all, or you might prove that I am a complete idiot who doese not know what he is talking about.
2006-07-08 23:21:32 · 13 answers · asked by adrian w 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
SPEED OF LIGHT IS A CONSTANT AND IT WILL NOT EXCEED
THAT LIMIT NO MATTER IN ANY CASE THATS WAT EINSTEIN SAID
2006-07-09 00:17:37 · answer #1 · answered by Prakash 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it can bend in space due to gravity but not increase or decrease. You cant compare a physical bullet to a wave length (light energy) that does make sense. And I hope your not serious about the bible proving anything wrong or true for that matter. I believe in god more than most people but the bible is 98% BS. Who's to say where is the edge of the universe is or how far. I am not a scientist just a man but asking people to measure the speed of light in space is like me asking you bring me hard core evidence of god, bring me a photo of god with gods autograph on it. How would anybody go about doing both of those.
2006-07-08 23:34:26 · answer #2 · answered by ....wont be me..... 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it's 299,792,458 m / s in a vacuum, not in atmosphere. That is the theoretical limit of light anywhere in the universe.
The speed of light in other media is slower than c. In fact there are some materials that slow light so much that you could walk faster. Such materials are called "slow glass". The speed of light in water is so slow that neutrons from a nuclear reactor travel faster than it, and cause the blue glow of Cherenkov radiation.
You may be right about the Bible in a round about way. Relativity offers a possible explanation. I read that one physicist, Gerald Schroeder, worked out that the time dilation of someone traveling at light speed since the big bang would be about 6 days to our present time (from their perspective) but appear as 15+ billion years to us mere mortals.
2006-07-08 23:41:08 · answer #3 · answered by Wyld Stallyns 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The speed of light in a vacuum or c is exactly 299,792,458 metres per second or 1,079,252,848.8 kilometres per hour. Converted to imperial units, it is approximately 186,282.397 miles per second, or 670,616,629.384 miles per hour. Note that this speed is a definition, not a measurement, since the fundamental SI unit of length, the metre, has been defined since October 21, 1983 in terms of the speed of light—one metre is the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
It is slower than that on earth. The speed of light is of relevance to communications. For example, given that the equatorial circumference of the Earth is 40100 km and c = 300000 km/s, the theoretical shortest amount of time for a piece of information to travel half the globe along the surface is 0.0668 s.
The actual transit time is longer, in part because the speed of light is slower by about 30% in an optical fibre and straight lines rarely occur in global communications situations, but also because delays are created when the signal passes through an electronic switch or signal regenerator. A typical time as of 2004 for an Australia or Japan to US computer-to-computer ping is 0.18 s. The speed of light additionally affects wireless communications design.
The finite speed of light became quite apparent to everybody following the communication of Houston ground control and Neil Armstrong when he became the first man to set foot on the Moon: For every question, Houston had to wait nearly 3 seconds for the answer to arrive, and would have to do so even if the astronauts replied immediately.
The speed of light has been measured in a vacuum by experimentation
2006-07-08 23:37:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have said, the speed of light is thought to be a constant, and at a maximum, in space. In air or other media it is slower, depending on how you measure the speed of light. Are you talking about the "group velocity" of light, "the phase velocity" of light, or the speed at which information can be conveyed by light. Different numbers for different terms.
Most materials have an index of refraction greater than one. The index of refraction is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum over the speed of light in a material. Now, what about materials with an index of refraction of less than one? They should have a velocity of light greater than that in a vacuum. Watch the scientist scramble to explain that! How about materials with a negative index of refraction? Such materials exist, but you'd have to be a scientist to see through the double talk as they explain it in order to not conflict with Einstein's theories. I doubt you'll find anyone on Yahoo! Answers to explain it properly anyway.
2006-07-12 09:18:39 · answer #5 · answered by Doctor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's good to see someone trying to reason things out, but you do need to get your facts right in the first place or else you're liable to arrive at wrong conclusions.
The measurement to which you refer is designated as C, the speed of light in a vacuum--not the speed on earth. And it's actually 299,792.458 km/s.
2006-07-08 23:29:27 · answer #6 · answered by Pandak 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing that travels faster than the speed of light..period!! The speed of light also travels the same speed in space as it does on earth....it does not change because there will never be anything faster than that alone. No matter where you are....on this planet, in space...you name it!! It's just a fact!!!
2006-07-08 23:28:25 · answer #7 · answered by Blondie* 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it isn't 300,000 km/sec on earth. It's a bit slower, because it takes time to travel through air.
Look at a prism. Light slows down while it is in the glass. Same effect on earth.
So it's not really faster in space so much as slower on earth.
But please, keep challenging scienctific assumptions! We're all after the truth, you know. Maybe we're all wrong. Maybe everything isn't made of fire, earth, and wind like some Greek thought so long ago...
2006-07-08 23:30:08 · answer #8 · answered by Daniel A 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that they have measured light in space, when they see a solar
flare, the time is measured until it hits earth, I think they can calculate the speed.
P.S. Data has been sent by laser and the data arrived before the light making it faster. Never say never.
2006-07-08 23:39:01 · answer #9 · answered by henry b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
instead of trying to refute science that is based on proof and not blind faith ,why dont you try reading the history and understand where the bible really comes from?is it really word of god?do you really believe that earth is flat like bible says?
you have an agenda and when you have an agenda,you twist facts and try to get your own conclusions.your question and answer has nothing to do with the speed of light or science.it is about proving bible above science.its not going to happen my friend.because the true and proven science IS the word of god,not bible.
2006-07-08 23:39:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Light travels at its highest speed in a vacuum. Since space is a vacuum light travels faster in it.
2006-07-09 00:05:22 · answer #11 · answered by Eric X 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋